Peeping Tomcat
by LycoRogue
Summary: Something called to Adrien, and before he knew it, he was addicted to sitting outside Marinette's window as Chat Noir; just watching her. His voyeuristic habit needs to stop, but things have gotten far too complicated now that he realizes he's growing a crush on her.
1. Mistake

****A/N: Well, this is it! This story has been in the making since September. I was introduced to the Miraculous fandom just this past July, and instantly fell in love. So, in honor of the second season coming to Netflix today, I bring you my first Miraculous fanfic, as well as my first completed multi-chaptered fanfic. Enjoy!****

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 **CHAPTER 1: MISTAKE**

She didn't realize I watched her every night, and, frankly, I probably shouldn't have.

I'm not entirely sure what it was about that particular night. Murphy's Law was in full effect. Either that, or the glorious luck of the Black Cat.

I landed within my bedroom just as the last beep sounded, and the last neon-green pad vanished from my ring. Yellow energy sparked around me as the superhero costume of Chat Noir vanished; replaced by the civilian clothes I had on before. My ring spat out my kwami Plagg before returning to its silver color.

"So exhausting," Plagg dramatically croaked as he spread out in my awaiting hand. The magical being roughly filled my palm, and resembled a black cat with a bulbous head that took up about half his body. His proportions always reminded me of the chibi designs used in anime. It made me wonder quite a few times if the originators of the chibi styling had ever seen a kwami, and got the design idea from them.

"If you're going to wear me out," Plagg continued, straining to keep his green eyes open as he addressed me, "could you at least do so fighting against the akuma instead of Ladybug?"

My heart tightened. I hated having no memories after being controlled by one of Paris' supervillains. Especially since Plagg always seemed to know exactly what was going on while I was powered up as Chat Noir, even if I blacked out and had no control over what I did with my superpowers. He had no problem mocking me about the cruel things I'd do while brainwashed.

"I was trying to shield Ladybug. I didn't actively aim to get controlled by The Conjurer," I huffed out.

"You nearly hit Ladybug with your Cataclysm this time! It's a good thing-"

"I know!"

Before I could continue my rebuttal, there was a knock on my bedroom door.

"Adrien?" The voice of my father's personal assistant was soft but stern. Something was up.

"Plagg, hide," I whispered to my kwami, knowing from Nathalie's tone that she wasn't going to wait for a response before opening my door.

"Too tired," Plagg whined back.

I quickly shoved him into my cover shirt's inner pocket just as Nathalie cracked my door open. She peeked in to figure out where I was in my vast bedroom before opening the door the rest of the way and standing with perfect posture against it.

"Adrien, your father wishes to see you in his atelier." Always the professional, Nathalie gave nothing away with her tone. She just spoke fact, not speculation. For Father to call for me to his office meant he was busy but needed to see me immediately. There was something important he needed to discuss, but I wasn't going to figure out what from Nathalie.

I didn't say anything back. I simply nodded and walked past her out into the hall of my father's Parisian mansion. She escorted me downstairs to my father's office, where she skirted around me to open the door and announce my arrival. Sometimes I wondered if she wasn't a bit over-the-top with her duties. It wasn't like I was royalty, and I was perfectly capable of both walking the mansion and opening doors by myself.

Father didn't seem to notice the announcement anyway. His back was towards the door as he stood behind his desk and stared at the near floor-to-ceiling painting of my mother. His stance was as staunched and ridged as always while he yelled into his phone.

"No! I said that the fabric had to be navy blue, not steel blue. The color scheme is going to be horribly off now. Fix this. I expect the proper fabric by tomorrow morning. No excuses!" Father slammed the phone down and ran his hands through his platinum blonde hair; smoothing loose strands back into his peaked, coiffed locks.

"Father?" I meekly implored after a reassuring nod from Nathalie.

He whipped his head past his shoulder to address me. Taking a few breaths through his nose, he patted down his cream blazer over his silver vest, and then straightened the candy cane striped ascot before scooping a folder off the corner of his desk.

Now fully put back together, he strutted over to me with his hands folded behind his back and his chin parallel with the floor. He only allowed his head to dip once he stood before me, towering over me; unable to otherwise peer down far enough to see his young teenage son.

"Adrien, care to explain any of this?" In a swift movement, Father flicked the folder from behind his back to about even with my nose. Cautiously, I took the folder and flipped it open. It contained proofs from my latest fashion shoot, displaying the designs my father had created for his latest teen line of clothing.

"My photo shoot?" I flipped through the proofs a second time, but I couldn't find anything that needed explaining. I had done the poses I was told. I was looking where I was instructed. I wasn't sure what my father was trying to get at.

"They're absolutely terrible." My father snatched the folder back from me in order to flip through the pictures himself. "I can't use any of them." He then began pulling each photo out to address his concerns. "You're slouching. You're not smiling. When you are smiling it's obviously fake. How am I supposed to sell the latest line like this? You're not showcasing the clothes well in most of these. And when you are showing off the outfits you look depressed. Is this the image you think my line should have?"

He tossed the folder at Nathalie, who scrambled to catch it before the photos fell everywhere.

"No, Father. Of course I don't." I hung my head, unable to look him in the eye when he's like that. My tone dropped with the shame I felt. I wasn't even sure if I was feeling ashamed of my performance, the way I disappointed my father, or how my father was so overly focused on photos I didn't think looked all that bad.

"I also got a call from your piano instructor," Father continued, "She informed me that you should be much farther along than your current skills. Have you been practicing?"

"Yes, Father. Of course I-"

"You don't have your priorities in order anymore. You're so focused on your friends and that school; you're neglecting your future." Father turned and marched back to his desk.

"Father, no, it's not like that." I took a step to follow him across the room, but thought better of it and moved my feet back together.

Father stood in front of his desk, his glasses in one hand as the other massaged the bridge of his nose. He again stared at the painting he had commissioned of Mom after she disappeared. Part of me wished it was her staring at a painting of him instead. She would have understood.

"You are having a reshoot tomorrow, and I expect you to put some proper effort into it." Father put his glasses back on and walked around to his chair. He sat down with purpose and steepled his fingers. "You are also grounded until you can prove to me that you're focused on your future again."

"But Father-"

"Am I understood, Adrien?" My father's lips barely moved as he spat his question through closed teeth. There was no reasoning with him, only submission.

"Yes, Father."

"Nathalie, take my son back to his room. He has studying to do, and an early night so he's well rested for his shoot in the morning. Please inform his teacher that he'll miss History first thing, but assure her that we'll make sure he's caught up."

"Yes, Mr. Agreste." Nathalie bowed slightly at her hips before wrapping an arm around my shoulders and escorting me back out the door.

"Oh, and Nathalie?" Father called out just before his assistant could close the door behind her.

"Yes, Mr. Agreste?"

"Make sure to handle these workers being misquoted in the tabloids. I have enough on my plate as it is, and now I have to deal with this slanderous filth aimed at my brand. _You_ should be the only one talking to the press besides me, am I clear?"

I could hear Nathalie's sharp inhale at the accusation that she wasn't properly doing her job. Her back and shoulders went stiff before she melted into them; her eyes sinking to the floor.

"Yes, Mr. Agreste. I do apologize for not being so vigilant and-"

My father must have waved her off, because she softly bowed again and closed the door behind her before even finishing her sentence.

The door latching closed clicked loudly in the silent atrium. The length of the echo was all the time Nathalie needed to collect herself. She pulled at the hem of her steel grey blazer to straighten it, slicked back the streak of red tipped fringe that always seemed to untuck from her bun, and pressed gently on my back to let me know it was time to return to my bedroom.

Neither of us said anything as she escorted me, and even when she left me inside my room, she simply bowed her head before closing the door behind her. As soon as I was alone, Plagg zipped out from my shirt pocket.

"Wow, he sure chewed you out," my kwami noted as he hovered in front of me. His arms and legs were folded as he cocked an eyebrow.

I slinked back into my computer chair and spun it so I could rest my elbows on my desk; my head perched on the heels of my palms.

"Yeah, I know," I sighed, "What could I say, though? He's right. My priorities have changed. They changed the moment I became Chat Noir and had to focus on protecting Paris. I can't exactly tell him that though. Besides, piano and modeling were his idea to begin with. I like them well enough, but I'm not passionate about them."

"Boring," Plagg mocked in a sing-song tone. "And I'm still hungry. You never fed me and I'm still so weak from earlier-"

Before he could go on I held up a slice of Camembert for him. He greedily scooped it from my fingers before nuzzling it against his cheek.

"Oh, my tasty gooeyness," he purred before downing the whole thing in one bite, despite the slice nearly being the same size as his head.

I tried to ignore him; let him do his thing to rest up from my misadventures as a superhero earlier. I went to work on my homework, and was equal parts relieved and disappointed that I didn't need to give any of it much thought. I would have loved the distraction from everything, but at the same time, I wasn't sure I could tear my mind away from running through everything that happened earlier. All the failures: arriving late to class, becoming an akuma villain's puppet, attacking Ladybug instead of assisting her, and another night where not only didn't I bond with my father, but I also disappointed him. I couldn't settle. I couldn't stay there in that room; in that prison.

I turned to my kwami.

"Plagg," I called to him while extending my right fist. "Claws out!"

As soon as I said the keywords to trigger my transformation a faint chime rang out: my Miraculous, the Cat Ring, had activated. Black bled out from the center of the circular face and covered the silver band. I brought my hand up to my face and waited as Plagg got sucked into the ring. As soon as he was locked into my Miraculous, giving it, and me, the power of Chat Noir, another faint chime went off. Feeling pumped after hearing the ring activate and my powers lock in, I thrust my right arm triumphantly upwards. A neon green glow flashed for barely a second as a cat's paw formed on the ring face where the black bled out and Plagg was absorbed. Yellow energy sparked off my hands, waiting to be used to create my superhero costume. Using two fingers on my right hand, I swiped across my eyes, and a black mask formed; magically attached to my skin and never capable of being pulled off. The eye holes of my mask filled with a thin cover that made my eyes - sclera and all - a cat-like lime-green. My hands sparked again with more energy, and I combed them through my blonde hair, ruffling up my locks and causing two, black, false cat ears to pop up. Pulling my arms in tight, crossing at my chest, I focused the energy to my core, willing it to put on my bodysuit next. Thrusting my arms out to the sides, my black, leather-like, full-body catsuit formed onto my body, magically taking the place of my existing clothes. With a curl of my body, I re-extended with a heroic pose and a belt wrapped around my waist, dangling long behind me like a cat tail. My weapon, a magical baton, attached to my lower back just above where the belt knotted. Swiping at the air, I tried out the claws at the ends of my suit's gloves. I was ready. I was no longer Adrien Agreste. I was now Paris' superhero Chat Noir.

I felt freer as Chat Noir. I could be my true self as him. I wasn't the sheltered, teen model son of famous fashion designer Gabriel Agreste. I didn't need to be poised and proper at all times. I didn't have to be overachieving or perfect. I didn't need my father, or Nathalie, or my teachers, or my gorilla of a bodyguard watching over me every second. I was the guardian. I didn't have to be perfect because Ladybug was always there to help correct any failures I came across. I could be bold. I could be daring. I could try to reach farther than I thought I could. I could breathe.

Normally, that would be enough. Just being Chat Noir would be all I would need to feel the weight lift, the joy of life return, and my worries melt away. That night it wasn't enough, though. I still needed out of my bedroom; out of that house. I needed Paris. I needed to run through it to be truly free. I raced to the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up the back wall of my bedroom. Each window pane was roughly the same height as me, and there were three rows of them in order to reach to the two-story high-volume ceilings. Only the center row of windows opened, for safety reasons, but I could still easily hop through them as Chat Noir. Using my remote, I opened the left-most window and gave my room one last look before embracing my city.

In less than a minute I was out of my house and perched on the thick cement fence that surrounded my father's property. I listened to Paris in order to figure out where I wanted to go. It told me to go right a block towards the Place des Vosges.

The oldest Parisian planned square was a great reprieve from the urban environment around it, along with a breath of history still being enjoyed by modern society. Father typically had me take pictures by one of the fountains nestled within it. Children loved to play on the small playground or ride King Henry IV's carousel within the park. Even with all that history though, for me, the best part about the Place was something only a few months old. At the front of the historical square sat a statue of Chat Noir and Ladybug, dedicated to us as a thank you from all of Paris for our bravery and endless effort to keep the city safe.

I stood before the statue and stared up at it. Both me and Ladybug were carved to be life-sized, but the pedestal our statued selves were perched on was roughly even with my shoulders. Stretched out low on the rectangular, green marble, the bronze version of me looked poised to pounce. Leaping heroically off Bronze Chat Noir's arched back, Bronze Ladybug had a huge smile as the string from her magical yo-yo flew up from her extended right hand, and wrapped loosely around her like a lasso. The artist Théo Barbot had mastered the feel of motion and action in his statue. Sure, I may have hated that Théo had a crush on Ladybug, and I may have even felt threatened that he could win her away from me. However, no matter how I felt about Théo, I still had to admit that he captured Ladybug beautifully. His passion was definitely put into his work, and he showcased Paris' heroine in a way I couldn't.

I looked upon the statue and hoped that seeing the bronzed version of my lady would be enough to calm me, since I had no real way of tracking down the real one. I even hopped up onto the pedestal so I could better look Bronze Ladybug in the eye. I wanted to stroke her cheek. I wanted to hug her; hold her. I wanted to confess my feelings to her. This wasn't the real Ladybug, though, and I wasn't so desperate as to flirt with an inanimate version.

Besides, studying Théo's workmanship, being that close to even a simulated Ladybug, just reminded me of how much I had failed her earlier that day. While my lady would normally bring me comfort, I found none this time. I needed to move on. Paris hadn't healed me yet the way I thought it would. Silently pleading for the city to try again to help me, I felt a yearning to move further down the street: to my school.

A few more leaps, and I was perched along the roof of my three-story school; not even a hundred meters from the statue. So much had happened at the collège. It was the first time I was allowed to get a public education; a chance to make friends. I made them easily, and I had my best friend Nino to thank for that. He accepted me almost instantly, and helped the rest of the class warm up to me as well. He'd claim I did it all on my own, but I knew better. This school brought me my first true group of companions; the same social life my father had berated me about earlier that night.

Unfortunately, this school was also the center of my Chat Noir life. Nearly every member of my class had been taken over by Hawk Moth. Each one of them was turned into one of his akumatized villains. I had to fight almost every one of them in order to protect Paris, and to save them from the parasitic akuma that had transformed them. It was like Hawk Moth purposely targeted this school, which made me even more protective of it.

A lot of battles were fought there. More probably would be, but with Ladybug by my side, I'd protect those students. I'd protect my second home. I'd protect my friends.

A thought pulled at the back of my head as I reflected on the akuma supervillains that had originated at that school. There were fifteen kids in my class, including myself. Fifteen. There were thirteen akuma victims that were my classmates. Excluding myself, that meant only one of my classmates hadn't been akumatized. One kid didn't have a school year punctuated with the guilt of becoming a Paris-attacking supervillain: Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Realizing that Marinette was the lone student, besides me, who hadn't been transformed yet, I had a protective need to check on her home, as if gazing upon the abode was enough to ward Hawk Moth from her. I shifted along the roof of the Collège Françoise Dupont so that I was again facing the Place des Vosges. Nestled between these two key points in my life as Chat Noir was the humble bakery Marinette's parents owned, complete with the apartment the Dupain-Cheng family lived in.

It was a simple home considering the entire first floor made up the bakery, which was still smaller than my bedroom. In fact, my two-story room may have been larger than the entirety of the three-level apartment. Neither Marinette nor her parents ever seemed lacking, though. In fact, part of me envied the small apartment. No one could get lost in there. No one could feel alone. Family was always a good holler away, not that Marinette ever needed to holler to get her parents' attention.

There was a warmth to that building that transcended the ovens Mr. Dupain started up at four every morning. Even at night, long after the bakery had shut down, and despite being across the street, I still felt that warmth. For the first time that day, I felt at peace. Just looking upon the Dupain-Cheng household calmed me the way being Chat Noir normally did, the way running through Paris normally did, the way the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue normally did, the way none of those did that night.

Family. I think that's what pinned me to that spot; what soothed my heart. That transcending warmth I could feel meters away was the idea of family. The idea that Marinette was always surrounded by hers, and how it was obvious that her family was immensely proud of her. Marinette's parents were constantly smiling and visibly beaming whenever they were around their daughter, or at least talking about her. Their pride in the woman Marinette was becoming was palpable. The same was true about Marinette's great-uncle Cheng Shifu. The entire clan radiated with love. Anyone could feel it, even from across the street.

I needed that sensation that night. After all of my failings, and with Father's stern talk of his disappointments in me, I needed a reminder that unconditional love existed. I needed to know that people could love others even with their shortcomings; a way to reassure myself that my father still did love me, and that Ladybug would still need me as her partner.

Like the scent of freshly baked croissants, the pacifying feeling of honest, familial love wafted towards me, and I breathed it in deep. I was no longer on edge as I pictured all the things that made the Dupain-Cheng home so welcoming and loving.

I remembered being Chat Noir in Marinette's home as I assisted Ladybug in hiding Kim from an akuma villain who was hunting him down. While Ladybug discussed her strategy with Marinette's parents and Kim, I had spotted a family photo displayed on a bookshelf in the living room. Marinette had her goofy little grin, and her parents sweetly smiled behind her. While I don't think I have a single picture like that with Father, the photo reminded me of the ones I had with my mom; both of us grinning ear-to-ear. Love shone through the pictures of me and Mom, just as it did with that photo in Marinette's living room.

My mind then wandered to when I helped Marinette by translating for her Chinese great-uncle. She was so nervous about dishonoring the master chef, but the man took to his great-niece instantly. I got to spend the day watching the two of them interact, and it was sweet the care each took to learn about the other. In the end, Cheng Shifu was so proud of his great-niece that he renamed his famous Celestial Soup after her. True, my father uses me as a poster child for his clothing line, but there was something different; something special in Cheng Shifu honoring Marinette the way he did. She was able to be her clumsy, awkward, unsure self and still manage to impress him. I have to be poised, reserved, and refined at all times to avoid disappointing my father. Which is probably why I needed Chat Noir so much.

The thing that brought me the most comfort, though, was remembering when I was at Marinette's house to practice for the _Ultimate Mecha Strike III_ gaming tournament. Marinette may have been embarrassed by her parents, but I thought it was super sweet that they kept popping in to check up on us. The fact that they did so using the pretense of bringing us snacks was a nice added touch. They always had smiles that matched the warmth of the croissants, cookies, or quiche they brought for us. I get that Marinette was like most teenagers who just wanted some space to breathe, but I've had all the space I could want, and then some, since Mom went missing. To have someone check in that frequently, to have parents that so desperately want to be in their child's life; I don't think Marinette realized how fantastic that is, or how jealous I was.

I allowed myself to truly relax. I lounged across the roof of my school, my legs dangling over the edge, as I leaned back on my elbows and imagined what was going on in that warm apartment. What was it like to live there? What was it like to be part of that family? I pictured myself in Marinette's place: Tom Dupain was my father instead of hers, and Sabine Cheng was my mother. I envisioned it was me flailing around during a water balloon fight with my father, or that I was the one being instructed by my mother on how to roll out the dough properly to make the crust for a quiche. I could practically smell the smoky sweetness of a well-seasoned roast and fingerling potatoes being pulled from the tiny apartment kitchen oven and placed on the breakfast counter. I almost tasted the flaky butter of still-warm biscuits topped with a touch of plum jam. The chilled breeze of the night vanished from my notice as I felt snuggled into what would have been my lofted bed; should I have been the one who lived above the neighborhood bakery. I breathed in the sweet lingering smells of the day's baked goods as I pictured them being the cologne from the Dupain-Chengs as they tucked me in and kissed my forehead goodnight. I yearned for Marinette's reality to be mine, and imagined that it was.

I got so lost in that fantasy I nearly fell off the roof when I heard the scream.

"Marinette?" Freshly alert, I curled into a low, readied crouch and listened for further danger. The time ticked slowly in relation to my quickened heartbeats. The world was still.

A second shrill shriek rang out, and there was no doubt that it was coming from Marinette's attic bedroom on the fourth floor of the Dupain-Cheng's building.

"Marinette!" I pressed the paw-shaped button on my baton, and it extended, allowing me to use the momentum to push myself over the street like a pole vaulter. It kept me mere seconds to close the distance and land gently on her roof-top balcony, but my mind had already raced through about a dozen questions.

 _What was wrong? Why did she scream? Is she alright? Are her parents alright? Was she under attack? Was it an akumatized villain? Was it an akuma itself? Could Hawk Moth make a new supervillain already? Was Marinette being transformed just like all of my other classmates? How did I miss the attack? How could I have allowed myself to get that distracted? I knew there was something wrong, which is why I started watching her house to begin with, so how could I have screwed this up too? How could I be considered a superhero when I couldn't even keep a simple vow of protecting just one friend? How would I explain any of this to Ladybug?_

The rest of my body was still and alert, but my hands twitched with subtle vibrations as I grabbed the skylight entrance to Marinette's room. The air on her balcony was stuffy and stale, and I struggled to choke it into my lungs. Mentally preparing myself for whatever fight I might find inside, I raised the glass. I managed to lift it about five centimeters when I heard a giggle escape from the room below.

Marinette was safe. The scream I had heard earlier must have been one of excitement, not of pain or fear. I was blanketed with relief, but my hands still shook, and my adrenaline didn't seem to ease up. My heart continued racing, and my breath remained trapped in my lungs.

"Alya," Marinette chirped below me, "I don't think you understand how amazing you are! You just made my whole year."

She hadn't noticed that I was on her balcony, or that I had opened the skylight used as a trapdoor entrance to her room. I could easily close the window again before she found me out. I knew I should leave before I was caught and called a Peeping Tomcat. I was frozen though.

"Hold on, let me check real quick." Marinette's voice was so excited and bubbly. She then squeaked out an abrupt squeal before giggling again. That was when it occurred to me that I couldn't really recall hearing Marinette giggle. Not a true one filled with glee and elation, like the one I already heard twice that night. Up until that point, I had only heard her nervous laughs. The ones where I could almost picture her screaming "kill me now" in her head.

There were a few occasions where Alya got Marinette to abruptly guffaw, and they surprised me each time. I was never part of the conversation. I didn't know what made her chuckle. I was usually engrossed in my own activity; snapped to attention by the sudden, unexpected sound of her laughter.

Maybe that was what froze me on her balcony that night, that same sense of surprise at hearing something that was such a rare sound for me. Maybe it was because her giggle had the same warmth as her home: unexpected, but once experienced it seemed obvious and natural that it was so welcoming. It was infectious. I could feel a smile pull at my own lips as I heard the energy burst out of Marinette. The calm that washed over me when I was watching her house before seemed tenfold now that I could hear that startling giggle.

Startling giggle. How strange that hearing Marinette genuinely laugh felt surprising. How could I have heard it so infrequently, considering how upbeat and happy Marinette always seemed to be? Knowing Marinette, talking with her, watching her with others, she was such an optimistic person who never let anything get her down. She would simply take a beat, pick herself back up, and try again. That was probably why she hadn't been akumatized yet; she never seemed to have any negative feelings for Hawk Moth to manipulate. It was weird to me that I could easily imagine her laughing in her daily merriment, and yet I hadn't truly heard it until minutes ago.

"Okay, Alya. I'll see you in school tomorrow. Thanks again."

I was knocked out of my own thoughts. I hadn't even registered that I was still holding her window open. Now I had lingered too long. She had gotten off the phone with Alya. I had nothing distracting her from hearing me latch the window back closed. Worse yet, I was again clueless as to what Marinette's best friend said to her in order to get her to giggle like that. A shame, because I would have loved to be able to get that sound out of Marinette whenever I needed its soothing tone. Like a cat purring.

"I can't believe this! So awesome!" Marinette squealed a high-pitched note once more. She then turned on some Jagged Stone. A wicked rocker guitar riff enveloped the room as drums added to the energy. Jagged's gruff vocals joined in a couple seconds later, followed by the padding of Marinette dancing barefoot across her hardwood bedroom floor.

She was distracted again, and she still hadn't noticed me. Still hadn't noticed that the window above her lofted bed was ajar. Still hadn't noticed that she wasn't alone. Now was my chance to escape without embarrassing myself.

 _Okay,_ I told myself, _gently, put the window down. Close it. Leave. Go home. Marinette's safe and you're being a little creepy._

I didn't move, though, I was hypnotized still. Her scream had called me over. Her giggle hooked me. And now listening to her dance and try to emulate Jagged's baritone voice was entrancing. She sounded so at ease, so confident, and so careless about how off-key trying to imitate the rocker's gruff voice made her. Everything about her rocking out seemed more aggressive and assertive than I knew Marinette to be in most situations, and yet matched perfectly with how she stood up to Chloé. It was beautifully in character for her, and yet contradictory. The end result was a goofy surrealism that forced me to choke down my own laughter so I wouldn't be caught.

From my vantage point I could only see her lofted bed, but that didn't matter. I could still hear her dance and sing, and it was wonderfully whimsical. I never got to witness this side of her. Not up close.

Around me she was always so awkward. She tripped over her own tongue, as well as her own feet. She exuded self-doubt even though she more than proved her capabilities on numerous occasions. She seemed so meek and shy, which was partially why we never really spent some one-on-one time together, despite her probably being my best friend behind Nino.

Marinette and I had a connection. I knew we did. I knew it from the moment I offered her my umbrella that first week of school. For whatever reason, I felt vulnerable around her, but at the same time, I sort of liked that I could be, that I was safe to be. Yet, even with this connection, we never seemed to get much of a conversation going before her bashfulness bogged the interaction down.

I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to hang out with her more. I liked hanging out with her. I enjoyed when she could come out of her shell, like when we were playing _Ultimate Mecha Strike III_. Still, this Marinette dancing around her room and purposely singing gruffly was new to me, yet familiar.

The song ended; almost instantly followed with the next one on the playlist. I must have been holding up Marinette's window for over five minutes at this point, but I barely noticed my muscles begging for me to stop flexing; to either open the window the rest of the way and enter her room, or to close the window and go home like I knew I should. I couldn't do either. I couldn't let this opportunity slip away from me. I wasn't sure when I'd see this side of Marinette again.

 _See it._ I hadn't actually seen anything. I imagined, based on what I heard, but I didn't actually see her dance. I was picturing a whimsy I never actually witnessed in Marinette, but it still felt so natural to imagine her that way.

I had to actually watch her. Every cell in my brain was screaming for me to let it go and go home; that I was being a total creepasaurus. But every muscle twitched with a need to take in this part of Marinette she probably would never let me see, not with how awkward she always was around me. I had an opportunity just a few meters below me. How could I pass it up; ignore it?

By the end of the song I couldn't bear the indecision any longer. My body had won out against my brain. Sin triumphed over decency. Maybe it was the influence of the Cat, but I couldn't leave until my curiosity was sated. My yearning to watch Marinette dance to Jagged Stone had turned into a slow burning need. I couldn't shove the thought out of my head. The trick was finding a way to watch her without getting caught.

As slow as I could manage, I lowered her skylight trapdoor. I tried to bring it as close to the frame as possible before pulling my fingers away so the click of it securing would be muffled by her music.

I have no clue if it was some sort of act of god for my sins, or if it was just the Black Cat's bad luck, but as I slid my fingers out from under her window one of my claws caught. Worse yet, I didn't notice it. I thought I was free, and pulled my hands up quick in order to pounce over to one of Marinette's side windows. I finally spotted my error as the window flew back up a few centimeters with my hand, before slamming back down into place. Too quick for me to catch it again and soften the blow.

My heart hopped up to my throat like one of those scared cartoon cats that latched to the ceiling. While the clap of the skylight falling into place wasn't nearly as loud as I had feared, it still softly echoed, and the song Marinette was listening to abruptly stopped. The whole of Paris seemed to hold its breath as I heard Marinette call up "Hello?"

 _Move!_ my brain screamed at me, but I could only focus on the sound of Marinette rushing up the laddered steps leading to her lofted bed. Such a small sound - the clap of a window that most may not have even noticed - and yet Marinette was on full alert. She was fast, too, the padding of her feet bouncing from step to step getting louder as she climbed.

 _Move!_ my brain ordered again. My chest clenched as each breath seared my throat. I couldn't be caught! How would I explain myself to her? I was a hero of Paris, and I was spying on her.

 _MOVE!_ I begged my legs to straighten, for me to at least stand up. I spotted the wall that blocked off Marinette's balcony from the rest of the roofs along the row houses surrounding the Place des Vosges. My brain took back control of my body, and I leapt over the wall just as Marinette's ebony hair came into view.

My heart played _Flight of the Bumblebees_ against my ribs as I pressed hard against the wall, crouched low into the shadows, and prayed my black suit would camouflage me enough. My skin burned with embarrassment as I tried to will Marinette into thinking the sound of her skylight was simply a pigeon pecking at it. She could just go to bed, oblivious that I had completely invaded her privacy.

Black Cat's luck struck again. The skylight snapped open with a light ping against the wall I was hiding behind.

"Is- Is anyone there?" Marinette called out in a stern, demanding voice, but it still had a hint of her signature concern and sweetness.

 _Never again. Never again. Never again._ I chanted to myself, ordered myself, as I listened to her wandering her balcony. She called out a couple more times. Never once did her voice sound scared. If anything, her voice had an added twinge of concern with each beckoning.

She was nothing like Chloè. My childhood friend was so pampered and skittish; she'd most likely fly into a panic at the sound of her window clanging unexpectedly. She would be bellowing for her faithful butler or her father to protect her. She'd probably wail for Ladybug to rescue her. Most people would probably have that reaction, though.

Not Marinette. Even with something like a potential home invasion, Marinette still assumed the best in people; was still concerned for another's wellbeing; was still strong instead of scared. She just trusted she would be safe; trusted everything would be alright.

Once more I was reminded of how amazing this girl was; something I had known pretty much from day one, but a fact that kept surprising me.

That was the start of the end. I should have known in that moment, hiding in the shadows and waiting for Marinette to go back inside, that I was doomed.

* * *

 ****A/N: Whoa! Long chapter, huh? Sorry this intro chapter went on for a while, but I felt I needed to in order to justify Adrien's actions. It's only going further into the sin bin from here, but I hope Adrien is drawn well enough that it feels justified.**

 **I will be posting a new chapter every Friday. So don't forget to come back if you liked this chapter! :D ****


	2. Itch

****A/N: OMG, I got so much love for this last week! Thank you all! I love you! 3**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2: ITCH**

"Will you stop fidgeting? You're making me tired just watching you." Plagg sprawled out along the back of the white sofa in my bedroom. He theatrically yawned to accentuate his point.

"What are you talking about?" I spun in my computer chair a couple of rotations.

"That," he grumbled, "You haven't sat still for more than ten minutes since dinner."

"So I have energy to burn. I'm fourteen, what would you expect?" I put my feet up on my desk and pushed hard to jet myself over to my sofa. I then spun around and scooted back to my desk before pushing off again.

"This is more energy than I've ever seen you have. It's none of my business, but it is exhausting just watching you flit all over the place."

"Don't be so dramatic." I scooted back to my desk and began drumming against the glass top with my fingers. I got a good rhythm going and grabbed some pencils to really get into the beat. I grooved out for nearly three minutes before I flung the pencils over my shoulders, stood up, drummed my thighs a bit, and wandered over to my arcade game cabinets.

"Seriously? Since dinner you have checked the Ladyblog six different times for updates, pined for Ladybug at least twice, shot hoops for about ten minutes, started up an anime series, but shut it off before the first episode was even done, started up a different series, only to do the same thing, started up _Ultimate Mecha Strike III,_ and then turned it off again before you even selected a character, checked your profile online, checked your phone, took a shower, flipped through the news, did whatever it was you were doing in your chair, drummed on your desk, and now you're starting up another video game."

I had already turned the game back off even though I had beaten the first level. My fingers twitched against the controller buttons.

"Okay, so I might be a bit restless. Nothing seems to be keeping my attention tonight."

"Really?" Plagg drew out the word in mock shock. "Look, why don't you just become Chat Noir and go on patrol or something? I know you want to run into Ladybug again."

"No!" I caught how urgent I sounded and cleared my throat. "I mean, we already beat an akuma today. There won't be another one until at least tomorrow, unless Hawk Moth's powers started allowing him to create two in one day. Ladybug didn't say anything about a patrol. She won't be out. There's no need for Chat Noir." I stared out my windows, played with my ring, and wished I was wrong.

"Well, you need to do something to clear your head. You're driving me crazy with your pacing. What about visiting Marinette? That seemed to calm you down last night."

"No! No, that was wrong. I didn't mean to spy on her, and I shouldn't have stayed around as long as I did. No. I'm not going to purposely go over there." I stormed back over to my desk and plopped into my chair.

"I didn't say to spy on her. Call her, and see if she wants to hang out. No spying needed."

I blushed that my mind instantly went to spying on her again instead of simply visiting a friend.

"First of all, Plagg, it's late, I'm not going to leave the house as Adrien at ten o'clock on a school night. My father would never allow that. Second, I'm grounded, remember? I couldn't go anywhere as Adrien anyway, especially not to go socialize. Third, I don't have her number. Finally, it wouldn't really matter even if she would accept guests this late. Marinette's cool and all, but she gets so nervous around me. Just hanging out isn't going to be the same as last night. She isn't going to be as goofy, care-free, or spontaneous."

"Fine, then just show up as Chat Noir, but knock on her window or something and ask to spend time with her."

Would that work? It seemed a good happy medium. She was pretty calm-headed when we worked together to try to take down the Evillustrator, and again when I saved her from Gamer. Maybe we could finally hang out as friends if I were Chat Noir.

Then again, those times were cases where she was confronted by a supervillain. Maybe she's just calm in times of crisis, because she seemed pretty star-struck when I first introduced myself as Chat Noir to her. If she got flustered around Adrien, she probably would be equally, if not more so, around a superhero.

"Nah," I eventually told Plagg as I shook my head. "I wouldn't want to keep her up just because I can't seem to get settled."

Plagg shrugged and drifted over to my bed. "Eh, I tried. If you're going to stay in tonight I'm just going to sleep."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea, Plagg. I should just go to sleep. Maybe tomorrow I'll be over these jitters."

"What has you so wound up anyway? Are you that anxious about how your reshoot went this morning?"

I had woken up surprisingly at peace that morning. Every trouble that weighed me down the night before had washed off in my sleep. I was chipper, and Vincent commented on how I had never been more brilliant at a shoot before. I was positive my father would be happy with the results this time.

If I wasn't nervous about my shoot, then what _was_ making me so unsettled? I did well in school, I was helpful to Ladybug against the akuma earlier, and my father even had dinner with me that night. Granted, it was only a brief ten-minute meal before he jetted back to work, but it was something. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why such a good day had me craving to be outside as bad as the night before.

I shrugged at Plagg and walked around my room, gathering up the DVDs and video games to put away.

I didn't think much of it while I was cleaning up, but when I put _Ultimate Mecha Strike III_ back on the shelf my chest clenched for a heartbeat. I hadn't played it since I practiced for the tournament with Marinette a few months before. I realized I was wondering what she had done after school that day.

Was I fidgety because of Marinette?

Yeah. As much as I hated myself for it, the only thing I actually wanted to do that evening was spy on her again as Chat Noir. I felt sleazy admitting it to myself, but there was a thrill in catching a side of her that she didn't let others see, or at least a side of her that she didn't let me see. Nothing else held my attention because nothing else was as exciting or entertaining.

As I walked back down the spiral steps to the main floor of my bedroom I realized that the burning tug at my chest felt familiar to me. I knew the sensation of that twitching throughout my body. It was an itch, a mental itch, that I just couldn't scratch.

I would get that itch whenever I was engrossed in a TV series and needed to binge-watch the rest of the season, even though I knew I had wasted enough time on the sofa already. It was there when I was about half way through a video game and I needed to know what the next level would bring. I couldn't settle if I was only a few chapters from the end of a book, even if it was already past midnight.

Stories. That's what would give me those mental itches: that sensation of wonder and restlessness until I knew what happened next. Just like everything else that gave me that mental itch, I was caught up in Marinette's story. She had such an intriguing tale, and I burned to know more of it. I couldn't turn my brain off until I did.

I needed to learn how to turn it off, though, because I wasn't going to spy on her. I had promised myself the night before that I was never going to do that again. It was a one-time thing. It was bad enough I invaded her privacy even that much. I had felt so guilty about it that I couldn't look her in the eye at school.

And yet, Plagg wanted me to try to calm myself by spending time with her. I softly chuckled at the thought.

My room clean again, I changed into pajamas and snuggled into my king-sized bed. I watched Plagg drool onto one of my pillows before I closed my eyes and chanted to myself. _Forget about Marinette; you're not spying again. Forget about Marinette; you're not spying again. Forget about Marinette; you're not spying again._

Soon I lost track of how many times I mentally chanted my mantra in an attempt to lull myself to sleep. My sheets felt too tight, so I tossed a little to loosen them up. _Forget about Marinette; you're not spying again._ I was too hot, so I kicked a foot out from under my covers and pushed my heavier blanket to Plagg's side of the bed. _Forget about Marinette; you're not spying again._ I opened my eyes and stared at the blank white ceiling that made up the second floor of my bedroom. _Forget about Marinette; you're not spying again._ My muscles twitched and ached like invisible bugs were crawling all over my skin.

Huffing a low growl, I tossed around some more. Onto my stomach. Back to my right side. Bounce around until I was on my left side. My Egyptian cotton sheets felt like fine sandpaper. I looked over at my desk beside me to see what time it was.

Nearly midnight. I had been tossing, turning, and trying to shut off my brain for close to two hours. Giving up, I tossed the covers off me and sat up. As I scanned my room for something that could distract me I spotted my jeans draped across the back of my computer chair. Poking out of the pocket was a thick, pale pink bead attached to a red string.

I walked over to the pocket and pulled the bracelet out. It was too small for me to actually wear. It looked like it was designed by a seven-year-old: mismatched beads lining the length of yarn, and a large loop at the end of it to thread the loose end through as a fastener. I had kept the good luck charm on me every day since Marinette gave it to me during our gaming training session.

I still wasn't sure if Marinette had been messing with me when she told me that the bracelet was what made her so good at the game. Considering her and Max ended up winning the tournament, I assumed it was some sort of attempt at a Placebo Effect to raise my confidence while playing. Still, it was sweet of her to offer it to me, and it did seem to bring me a little bit of luck. As I ran my fingers over the beads I was again grateful that I forgot it was in my pocket during the tournament.

I actually didn't realize I still had it on me until the next day, and I didn't have a chance to give the charm back to Marinette. After nearly a week of failing to return the bracelet, I began to feel weird about how long I had it. Marinette never asked for it back, though. Maybe she really did believe that she was good because of the bracelet, and, after winning the tournament without it, she realized she didn't need it anymore. Maybe she just forgot I was the one that had it. Or, maybe she did mean for the charm to be a gift instead of just a loan. Whatever her reason was for not asking for it back, I had decided to keep it, and was glad I did.

The mental itch subsided as I held the charm, feeling the plastic beads against my palm. Picturing how sweet and humble Marinette was when she gave me the bracelet calmed me. My muscles stopped twitching. Pinching the loop of the yarn between two fingers, I drew the length of the string up in front of my eyes so I could inspect each bead. Focusing on each one she had threaded onto the yarn helped silence my mind. I climbed back into bed and stretched the bracelet out for me to stare at while I tried one more time to sleep.

It almost worked. I was calm. My mind wasn't running nonstop. My bed felt comfortable. Then a random switch in my brain went off. I couldn't stifle my impulses anymore. I needed to check in on Marinette. I knew I just needed to peek in through her skylight, see that she was sleeping and safe, and then I would know that I wasn't missing anything. I'd be able to sleep.

"Plagg." I hated myself as my kwami stirred in his sleep, muttering a soft _whaa?_ "Claws out!"

Plagg instantly woke up as he was sucked into my ring. He barely had a chance to complain before he was absorbed into the metal. I quickly went through my routine of transforming before leaping out of my bedroom window.

"Quick peek to shut my mind up and then it's back home. Simple." I shook my head at how pathetic I was. "She'll just be asleep. Why am I being a creeper?" I stared off to my right, knowing full well that I should go in any direction but that one. My legs decided to move of their own accord.

I felt terrible for prying into her personal life like that. It wasn't right. As a famous model, I knew full well how intrusive it was to have people always watching; never a private moment to yourself. Yet, there I was, doing the same thing to Marinette. Worse yet, I was nearly caught the night before. Thankfully, I was quiet enough that she eventually shrugged the sound off, and then just hung out on her balcony for a little bit before going to bed.

I couldn't chance her catching me watching her like that; invading her privacy like that. What if she told Alya that Chat Noir was spying on her? What if Alya wrote about it on the Ladyblog? What if Ladybug found out? No, I knew I shouldn't take the chance. I knew I should let it be. I knew it should have been a regrettable one-time thing, but watching Marinette was an impulse I couldn't squelch. I had found my way of learning more about her without her bashfulness getting in the way. I couldn't give that up.

So, for the second night in a row, I snuck over to her house as Chat Noir.

I landed softly on her rooftop balcony and knew this was my last chance to stop myself. _You're a superhero, Adrien!_ I scolded myself, _Act like a superhero._

I was too close though. The window was right there. I just needed to check real quick; just a second, really. Make sure she's safe and asleep, that's all. I wasn't going to watch her sleep or anything.

My heart raced as if protesting my invasive urge, but my muscles twitched more than they had all night. This was a need now. I crawled over to the skylight.

She wasn't there.

I closed my eyes, and I mentally called for Plagg to put on my night vision. When I opened my eyes again everything had a green tint to it, but I could see every detail. I did another quick check through Marinette's window, assuming I just couldn't see her in the dark before.

Her sheets were disheveled, tossed to the side and towards the foot of the bed. Her pillows were askew and still had wrinkles and indents from her sleeping on them. Marinette had at least gone to bed that night, but she wasn't in it now.

Panicked, my heart wedged itself into my throat. _Was it past midnight? Could Hawk Moth send out another akuma already? Did something happen to Marinette?_

I was about to lift her window in order to jump into her room and look for clues when a soft melody reached my ears. I ran over to the eastern side of her balcony - the one facing our school - and slid down the roof until I stood just above the gutters lining the top of the third floor. Pressed against the building, the melody was a bit clearer.

Once again she was listening to Jagged Stone, but it was his unplugged ballad to Ladybug. His voice wasn't as gruff as he softly sang to the piano accompaniment. Even though I enjoyed the rocker version of the song, my favorite was still that unplugged version. The one he played for the very first time at my first ever live concert. Jagged had only written the song a few hours before, after Ladybug saved his life from an akumatized supervillain. He only had the time to write the melody for the piano. Still, it was raw, sweet, and powerful. Just like Théo, Jagged had found a way to capture my lady within his art.

As I was brought back to that concert, and thoughts of Ladybug, I forgot for a moment that it was really late, and Marinette wasn't in bed. I snapped back to the present as the song looped through a second playthrough. I slid under Marinette's window and slowly stretched up to steal a glance inside to check on her.

I nearly fell off the side of the apartment as I was blinded. It was like a flash of the sun when you're not expecting it. That's when I remembered I had my night vision on. Blinking it back off, I let my eyes rest a second to get re-acclimated to the dark before trying again to look in on Marinette.

Without my night vision activated, I couldn't see much in her darkened bedroom. However, I could see her slouched over at her desk just off to my right. Her desk lamp – which was blinding with night vision on - was aimed at her like a spotlight. No, not her, her sketchpad.

She looked like she was about to pass out. She listed to the side, and barely held herself up with her left arm braced on the desk. Her right hand moved slowly but purposely across the page of her sketchbook.

"Don't worry, I'm almost done," she yawned.

I jumped from the window and pressed my back firmly against the building. Had she somehow caught me? I didn't even see her eyes lift from her book. Did she hear me?

"I just need to get this out of my head before I forget. I'll go straight to bed once I'm done, I swear."

Her words were too muffled to be directed towards me. I ventured another look. Her eyes never once moved from her artwork. In fact, I was surprised she saw even that much considering how heavy her eyelids were. Was she maybe talking to herself? Words to keep her focused and awake?

My muscles tensed as I fought a second impulse that night: one to enter her room and force her to go to bed. She looked so weary and drained, but she was also determined to finish whatever it was she was working on.

Her body sank lower and lower as her left arm drooped. Her head followed so it was barely hovering over her draped arm. However, as much as the rest of her body wilted in exhaustion, her right hand still drew steady lines curved in elegant moves.

Marinette's concentration was remarkable. It was obvious that she desperately wanted to be asleep, but she was determined to not lose whatever design was in her head. However, she also didn't rush her work in an attempt to just dump the design and go back to sleep. She took such pride in her designs that she poured as much effort into it as she could afford. Done once. Done right. My father would have been proud.

I don't think I have ever been as passionate for anything as I saw Marinette be over fashion. She had a drive that kept her awake when her body yearned for sleep, and a love that kept her hand steady while the rest of her body drooped over her desk. I had a new admiration for Marinette and the determination she had to accomplish what she set out to do without any shortcuts.

"Last touches." For the first time, Marinette's eyes lifted from her sketchbook, but they drifted farther from me, looking to the left of her computer monitor as she talked. Did she have a reference picture over there that she was checking?

A minute or two later, she pushed her chair back and rubbed her face with her palms in an attempt to wake up enough to at least climb into her bed. She clicked her music off before also switching her desk lamp off; flooding the room in the already encroaching darkness.

I huddled below the window until I heard the soft creak of her sliding back into bed. The show was over. I had gotten in my fix of Marinette's secret life, and I could go home now. Go to bed myself. Something held me against those shingles though.

The drawing. The design that Marinette was so desperate to not lose. I needed to know what had kept her up with the same mental itch I suffered. I blinked my night vision back on and stretched to try to see the sketchpad she had kept open in her haste to return to sleep.

I couldn't see the colors she had used while I had my night vision on, but I instantly knew why she had Jagged Stone's ballad to Ladybug on loop. The drawing was of a flowing, sleeveless sundress. Even without seeing the color, I knew the top half was black with a tiny, circular, golden bell in the middle of the u-neckline. A zipper line traced straight down from the neckline to the navel, and on either side of the zipper, just above the waist line, was an angled pocket sealed shut with another zipper. The black of the bodice curved in an asymmetrical arch, stopping just above the left hip, and coming to a point just below the right hip. The knee-length skirt had large black spots, and I would bet that the rest was red. It looked like she wanted the dress to be made out of stretch lycra and hologram fabrics, giving it a similar appearance as Miraculous super-suits.

She had designed a dress that not only combined the style of my suit with Ladybug's, but tied them together in a stylized yin-yang: two halves creating a whole. The two looks flowed perfectly together; proving how well Ladybug and I fit as partners. My body chilled, but my heart burned like a welcoming fire at the mere thought of Ladybug and I working as well together as Marinette's dress. That we could be just as intertwined. That we were two halves of yin-yang, balancing each other out.

I knew that Father needed to see that drawing somehow. I needed that dress to become real. I wanted to see girls spinning around in Marinette's design, giving her the praise and acknowledgement she deserved for the effort she put into that drawing. If Father's reaction to Marinette's derby hat was any indication, he'd love the dress. He might even gladly take Marinette under his wing as his fashion protégé.

I just didn't know how to have Father see the design. Adrien didn't see it; shouldn't know about it. Even Chat Noir didn't see it, officially. Marinette was incredibly shy about her designs, even when she had no reason to be. So the only time I actually saw them was when Alya was flipping through Marinette's book. It was unlikely Marinette would simply show off her latest designs to me unprompted, and I couldn't very well ask about that particular one without raising suspicion.

I needed to figure it out, though. It was the least I could do for spying two nights in a row.

The worst part was that she proved to me yet again that she was more interesting than she let on. Even late into the night, she had something to show me, though she didn't realize it. There was no way I was going to shut off my brain now. I was hooked. Figuring out Marinette via these night prowls was officially an addiction, and I had no clue how to quit.

* * *

 ****A/N: Man, I love that dress Marinette designed. I'm a terrible artist though, so I have no clue how well it would work in the real world. I hope as awesome as Adrien thinks. Also, the poor baby. He tried to be good. I know a lot of you are going to give Adrien some slack simply because you want some MariChat goodness. I know some of you will give him slack simply because it's only fair after all the creeping on Adrien Marinette has done. Even so, I really wanted to show that this is a struggle for him. That he hates even himself for doing this. That even he thinks he's a creeper. I want it to feel justified. I want a slow decent into this Sin Bin.**

 **I hope I did that as well as I wanted. I hope this feels in-character for our dear Cinnamon Bun.**

 **Also, in regards to the bracelet, I'm taking facts from the second season to make this feel more "real", but I'm not necessarily writing something "season two compliant." Therefore, this story doesn't exactly neatly fit anywhere within the second season episodes, but it IS after the first season ones.**

 **Finally, I would like to again thank everyone for all the love I got this past week for this story. I'm so glad you love it as much as I do! Does every author's heart good to know their baby is just as adored by others. I hope my writing can keep you just as excited for each weekly update. I want to do you proud and make sure this journey we're on is worth your time.**

 **So, please, always feel free to Con/Crit so I can make sure to get this story as good as it can be. On that note, I would like to address a guest comment on the first chapter. While it is VERY rare to see, and is largely NOT recognized as a word (it sort of fizzled out in the 50s), "thrusted" does indeed exist as a past tense of "thrust." However, now that I know that most consider it a grammatical error, I did go back and changed all of my "thrusted" to simply "thrust." Thank you for your critique.**

 **Until next Friday!**


	3. Opportunity

****A/N: Who's ready for an Adrienette blush fest chapter?****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3: OPPORTUNITY**

"We _have_ to go see 'Thief of the Gods' together. Adrien, tell me your father let you off of house arrest finally."

Alya casually looped her arm through mine and pulled me in so I could see her phone. She had brought up the times the movie was playing. Nino chuckled and gave me a little shrug like _Don't look at me, dude, just because I'm dating her doesn't mean I have any control over her._

"Uh, yeah, he seemed to have calmed down. I could hang out, I just have to let the Gorilla know that I'm not going straight home so he doesn't freak."

"Perfect! Go do that." Alya slid away from me with a swift pivot before giving me a soft shove towards my awaiting bodyguard at the front of the school. As I gave Nino another knowing glance I spotted Alya in my peripheral, draping her arm around Marinette's shoulders.

"You're coming too, right, Marinette?" Alya stressed her best friend's name like that alone was a challenge. "We have to all go together."

I stopped to hear Marinette's answer. This could be my solution. I had started to spy on Marinette only after my father grounded me from seeing my friends. Maybe a day hanging out with all of them was what I needed to stop my prying. Maybe actually interacting with Marinette would quench my need to spy on her in her room.

"It won't be as much fun without all four of us there," I offered. When I noticed Alya's smirk and sideways glance at Marinette I quickly amended, "I'd feel like the third wheel with these two. Help me out so I'm not just butting in on their date?" I hoped no one noticed my cheeks start to redden.

Marinette shrank against Alya as if she was trying to hide under her friend's arm. A goofy grin spread across her face, though, and she squeaked, "Sure, I'll come."

"Alright!" Alya removed herself as Marinette's blockade and shooed me. "I thought you were going to let your babysitter know you don't need a ride."

I laughed and shook my head as I jogged over to the Gorilla. He wasn't too thrilled with the unscheduled socialization, or the prospect of him not coming along, but with a little pleading – and a quick phone call to Nathalie – he relented.

As the town car pulled away from the curb Nino wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug.

"Yes! My bro is free! Come on, before the Gorilla changes his mind or your old man starts yelling." Nino started dragging me towards the Metro with his arms still tightly around me; keeping my arms shackled to my sides. After some laughs and a few awkward hops to keep up with him, Nino let me go and the four of us joked as we worked our way to the station.

The train itself was fairly empty as we climbed on, so it was simple enough to find four seats together. As I naturally sat down next to Nino I got a bit of a death glare from Alya.

"Are you two on a date? Or can I sit with my boyfriend?" She cocked a hip and gave a little head wag to emphasize her shock in my etiquette breech.

Blushing, I stood back up and motioned for her to sit next to Nino.

"Oh, why thank you, kind sir," she chirped, and playfully curtsied before sliding in next to Nino.

Marinette was still hiding a soft giggle behind her hand when I moved to sit beside her. The poor thing stiffened and stared bug-eyed at me until I was settled in. I began to panic that she knew what I had been doing that past week. That she knew I had succumbed to my addiction for three more nights after watching her draw that Ladybug and Chat Noir themed sundress. That she was just as disgusted with me as I was in myself. We both blushed and quickly broke eye contact.

She knew. She must have known. She must have figured out that I watched her while she played her video games, while she knitted, while she figured out what her next moves as Class Representative should be, and while she danced. She _knew_ that I was nowhere near as innocent as I portrayed myself. She knew my sins.

I only calmed my racing heart and silent hyperventilating when I remembered that even if Marinette did know what Chat Noir did, she didn't know I was him.

"So," Alya drew out the word, punctuating the awkwardness I had created. "Who's excited to see this movie? Have any of you read the book? I hope it's a good adaptation. I think the casting for Lucas Bernard is spot on. The guy looks just like the cover art." She flipped her phone around to show the rest of us a side-by-side of the cover for "Thief of the Gods" compared to the actor they got to play the protagonist. It was pretty perfect casting, looks wise.

We talked a bit about the movie and why each of us was excited to see it: Alya for the mystery, even though she knew the ending; Nino for the action and the "killer soundtrack"; I liked the spy element and the fact the character Lucas Bernard was a bit snarky, so the humor was supposed to be quite witty. Marinette shrank against the train car window and quietly muttered that she loved the star-crossed romance between Lucas and his partner Iva, and couldn't wait to watch that unfold.

My chest tightened. That was actually my favorite part of the book as well. Mainly because I pictured myself as Lucas, and Ladybug as Iva: the no-nonsense partner who tried to deny her feelings, only to eventually cave in during a near-death situation. While I hoped no near-death situations would be needed, Iva's love confession would be music to my ears coming from my Bug-a-boo.

Alya cleared her throat and tugged on Nino's arm.

"I'm starting to get a bit dizzy. Something about riding the train backwards, I think." Alya slid out of her seat and pulled Nino with her. "The seats behind us are open." She then turned to me and Marinette, "Do you guys mind if Nino and I just shift seats so I'm facing forward again? We should be at the mall soon anyway."

"We could just switch," Marinette offered, "I don't mind riding backwards."

"Nah, I don't want to chance anyone being in front of me until the dizziness lets up, ya know?" Alya clung to Nino as if he were the only thing keeping her upright.

"We don't have to watch the movie, I could call the Gorilla to come pick us up and bring you home," I told her, moving to help.

Alya held out a hand to keep me seated. "No, no. I'll be fine. Just a little motion sickness is all." She swung around her seat so she was in the next grouping of four. "Nino, come on," she softly growled.

The couple plopped into their new seats. They were within ear shot, but it wasn't convenient to talk with them any longer, leaving me and Marinette alone to kill the last five minutes or so of our trip.

We sat stiffly next to each other. Marinette stared out the window with her back perfectly straight and her knitted hands wedged between her knees, her feet tucked under her chair. I got twitchy again, and started tapping my knees. This was my opportunity to learn more about Marinette like a normal friend would, and I was blowing it. I couldn't think of what to talk to her about.

Then I remembered her drawing of the sundress. It looked amazing, and I wanted to see it in color. I also truly wanted Father to see it. The problem was I didn't officially know about the drawing, so I couldn't outright ask about it. I had to find a way to get her to show it to me on her own. How though? She always kept her drawings hidden; afraid that she wasn't good enough compared to others.

"So..." I let the word hang in the air as I tried to figure out how to come at this, how I was going to try to lead her to that drawing. How was I going to coerce her into offering to show it to me?

"It was nice of your father to let you hang out with us again." Marinette broke the tension between us, but she kept watch out the window. Maybe the passing tunnel was soothing to her, or maybe she was finally warming up to me, because she spoke calmly instead of her normal jittery self.

"Yeah. I guess he was just having a really bad day. I did miss hanging out with all of you, though. I'm glad we could all go to the movies."

The muscles in Marinette's legs tightened, pulling her knees up slightly. Tension grew in her shoulders as they also rose. I didn't know what it was that kept putting the girl on edge, but the silence penetrated our conversation again, as it normally did.

"What would you have been doing if you hadn't come with us?" Such a stupid question, but I needed to find a way to get her talking again.

"Oh, I- I don't know. I have a lot of hobbies."

I didn't say anything. I hoped she'd go on, but she continued to watch the passing tunnel. I decided to just make the jump.

"Speaking of hobbies, you still design, don't you? I haven't really heard you mention anything since my father's derby hat contest through the school."

That got her. She zipped around so fast I had to catch her from falling off the chair. It was a quick recovery on her part, she basically bounced off my palm as soon as it hit her shoulder.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry."

"For sliding off you chair?" I chuckled a bit at how apologetic she was.

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean I never apologized for my hat winning the contest. I knew you were going to model it. I should have asked first if you were allergic to anything. It must have been awful trying to wear it while the feather was making you sneeze."

I started to laugh. "Sorry, I don't mean to laugh off your apology. It's just, the contest was months ago. Have you been feeling guilty this whole time?" Was that why she was always so nervous around me? Didn't she realize that I considered her one of my closest friends? How could she think I was mad?

"Well, no. I guess I just didn't really think about it until you mentioned my derby hat. That's when I remembered I never apologized. But, you didn't have to suffer through a shoot because of me, did you?"

"Don't worry about it. Since I knew I was going to be around feathers I made sure I took some medicine. Everything turned out perfectly fine."

"Good." She rested a hand on her chest as she heaved a sigh. It always amazed me how much Marinette worried about others. Yet another quality that probably drew me to her as a friend.

I still hadn't driven the conversation where I wanted, so I tried again.

"You haven't given up designing because of my allergy, did you? Designers can't always account for a model's allergies, you know."

"Oh." She blushed faintly. I was beginning to become aware of how cute she looked with a little red. Meanwhile, her neck had almost vanished between her shoulders. "N-No. I still design some things."

"That's cool. I remember your drawings being really good. Plus, even my father seemed to think you have talent. I'm glad you're still using it."

"Um, thank you." Her cheeks reddened deeper, and she curled into herself to try to hide it from me. At this rate, I doubted I was ever going to get her to open up enough to show me the drawing. I didn't really have much time to spare either with our stop coming up. I decided on a different tactic.

"If you'd be okay with it, I'd love to show my father your sketchpad. Maybe he could give you some pointers or something?"

She nearly slid off the chair again.

"M-m-my! My drawings? You want to show your father _my_ drawings? Gabriel Agreste? No. No, he's a famous designer. Why would he want to see my drawings?"

"I already told you. Because you have talent."

"I wouldn't want to be a bother."

"No bother. I'll ask Nathalie first. Maybe she could butter my father up a bit. I'm sure he'd be willing to give them a glance during some of his downtime." I tapped my chin, honestly contemplating when I've ever seen him not working. "I'm sure he has downtime at some point."

"That's so sweet of you, but of course, you're the sweetest. I mean! Pfft, you're not sweet. No! I mean, you are- uh..." She wildly shook her head as if to clear it and reset. "What I mean is why would you want to do this for me?"

"What do you mean, 'why'? I want to see all of my friends succeed; to follow their dreams. I might not know what that means for me quite yet, but you, Alya, and Nino all seem to know. I want to help where I can."

I looked at the seats across from us, to where Nino's and Alya's heads would be.

"Aside from helping Nino get on _The Challenge_ , I can't really help him out with becoming a famous DJ, not yet anyway. And I wouldn't even know where to start when it comes to helping Alya become a renowned reporter, but I don't think she needs much help anyway with her ambition. You, though, Marinette? I could help you. I've got quite the in with France's most famous fashion designer, you know. If I didn't use that connection to help you achieve your dream, then what good am I?" I gave her a wink as I leaned back and crossed my legs. Marinette wasn't nearly as relaxed.

"No! No, you're good for more than that! You don't think-? I'm not friends with you just because you're the son of my favorite designer, you know. Right? Tell me you know that! I'm not trying to use you. I would never-" She was on her feet now, and Alya was turned around to make sure she was okay.

"Whoa! I know. Marinette, I know." I grabbed her wrists and tried to help her back down into her seat.

Unfortunately, the train was coming into the station at the same time. In the excitement we neglected to brace ourselves for the train slowing down. We were jostled, and Marinette nearly tumbled into the seats across from us. I held her wrists tight to help keep her anchored. The train stopped and we again weaved a bit. I didn't realize how much I was pulling back against inertia until there wasn't any left, and I yanked Marinette onto my lap. My heart thumped as her nose briefly brushed mine. Both of our faces burned, and Marinette slid back into her seat, apologizing over and over again.

"Marinette, it's fine." I nervously laughed, which didn't seem to calm her. Leaning in close, I placed a hand on her shoulder. She was trembling. It was slight; barely noticeable, but it startled me. I gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze as I whispered into her ear. I didn't want anyone but the two of us to know what I was saying to her. I didn't want anyone else thinking it was even a question. "I know you don't care who my father is, or that I'm famous. I know you like me for me. Just plain Adrien. Thank you. It means more to me than you could know that I have true friends like you three."

She softened in my grip, the tension sliding off again. As I pulled away her eyes followed me, wide and searching, but almost looking through me to some far distance. Her mouth hung half open. I had to hold in a smirk as her brain was clearly trying to reset itself again. Was my admission that she, Nino, and Alya all meant the world to me that shocking?

"Hey, did we miss something? You two crazy kids okay?" Nino and Alya stared at us, his arm again draped across her shoulders.

"Us? Yeah, man, we're fine." I laughed off Nino's question and hoped no one noticed me swallowing down the knot that had built up in my throat.

"Alright." Alya didn't seem convinced. She grabbed Marinette's wrist and gently pulled her along to the exit. "Come on, then. We'll miss the previews."

"Seriously, dude. Something happen we should know about?" Nino leaned in close to me in case I needed to confess without getting the wrath of his girlfriend.

"I'm hoping just a misunderstanding. It should be cleared up. Don't worry. Let's go catch up with the girls."

Apparently Marinette said pretty much the same thing to Alya, because the feisty teen was calmly laughing with her best friend by the time we caught up.

The walk to the mall was similar to the race into the Metro: lots of group jokes that were mostly between Alya and Nino. Marinette hung towards the back, smiling but quiet.

Nino held the door to the mall entrance open for Alya, and then I held it open for Marinette. As she passed me I quickly tapped her shoulder. Stopping her.

"We're cool, right?"

She gave me a big grin and full eyes. "Always."

The way she said that word, with that smile and those large eyes, reminded me of Ladybug. Every time she'd reject my flirting or I felt guilty about becoming controlled by an akuma supervillain, Ladybug would then cheer me up with a similar smile, and her eyes just as wide with sincerity. She'd then remind me that we were partners. Always.

Knowing I'd have Marinette by my side, just as I'd always have my lady, brought me peace. We headed towards the movie theater within the mall, and I made sure to stay in-step with Marinette as we watched Nino and Alya joke around with each other ahead of us.

"A-Adrien?" Marinette hummed nearly too soft for me to hear.

"Yeah?"

"You really think your father could like my designs?"

"Yeah. I really do."

Another cute blush flashed across her cheeks, but she now had an extra bop to her steps. As I watched her catch up with Alya and Nino a warmth washed over me. It wasn't the same as when I was spying on her in her room, but she did have a touch of that confidence now. It was a start. I had hoped it was enough to end Chat Noir's creeping.

* * *

 ****A/N: Spoiler alert... it isn't. XD Also, sorry for the drastically shorter chapter this go. This was a lot beefier, but it just grew too massive and had to be split in two. The second part is a lot longer to make up for it.**

 **So, Naughty Chat Noir had been spying on Marinette for five straight days now! More details on that in an upcoming chapter. In the meantime, how did I do with Alya, Nino, and Marinette? A lot of you have been commenting on how I've been doing well with Adrien, but did I also get the others right?**

 **I really wanted to make sure I didn't fall into the same trap most seem to with Marinette. Namely, her bumbling her sentences so much around Adrien that she becomes almost unintelligible. I hope I still have her nervousness while also allowing the poor girl to communicate.**

 **Until next Friday!****


	4. Normal

****A/N: Are you guys getting as excited for Fridays as I am? Because I barely sleep Thursday nights anymore.****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 4: NORMAL**

"Eh, guys, am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Nino slowed down and nodded over to his right slightly, at about a two o'clock direction.

"Did Chloé dye her hair? And what is _she_ doing at a sunglass hut anyway?" Alya whipped her phone out and started video taping the strange phenomenon.

About ten meters ahead of us a girl just starting to get her womanly curves stood at a sunglass kiosk. Her back was towards us, but she did look a lot like our classmate. She had Chloé's white skinny-jean capries and matching slip-on dress shoes. Like Chloé, she wore a thick black belt covered with diamond-shaped chrome studs. Exactly like the self-proclaimed queen of fashion, the belt was simply resting across her hips as an accent piece, instead of out of necessity. Her shirt was covered by the same leather-like, yellow, crop-jacket that Chloé always wore as a covershirt. The girl even had Chloé's signature ponytail: full-bodied, high on her head, secured with a glitter hair tie that matched her hair, chin-length bangs tucked behind each ear, and small accent locks with a slight curl to them dangling down the front of each ear. The only things that were off about her were that she had apple-red hair instead of a light honey blonde, and she didn't have her mother's white-rimmed sunglasses. A fact she was rectifying at the kiosk.

"I don't think that's Chloé," I chimed in, lowering Alya's phone. "There's no way Chloé would be anywhere near a store that sold such low-cost sunglasses. Plus, her hair is her pride and joy, why would she dye it?"

"Because that's not Chloé, that's Louise!" Marinette jogged past us waving at the redhead. "Louise! Hey!"

The girl turned, waved back at Marinette, and the two greeted each other with a quick hug and a kiss on each cheek. I turned to Nino, who seemed just as confused as I was, but Alya's eyes lit up as she smacked her forehead with the heel of her palm.

"Wow, how did I not catch that?" Alya shook her head and started towards the kiosk.

"Catch what?" I still had no clue how the girls knew Louise. I didn't recall seeing her before.

"She's a class representative in a lower grade. We've met at student body councils on the rare occasions every class must get involved in something, such as that gaming tournament. She's a sweet girl, but somehow she ended up idolizing Chloé. Seems she's gone over the edge finally."

That was a bit of an understatement. It was obvious this Louise girl was trying to be Chloé's clone. She probably wanted to emulate Chloé as much as the latter worshiped Ladybug. As we reached the kiosk I got a better look at the rest of Louise's ensemble. The shirt she was wearing was indeed the same white one with black stripes around the waist that Chloé favored. She also had a dainty circular pendent on a thin gold chain necklace, just like her idol. Louise made herself up with Chloé's signature powder-blue eye-shadow and pale pink lipstick. Unfortunately, with hazel eyes instead of sapphire blue, the eye-shadow seemed an odd choice, and the pale lipstick color washed out the already fair girl's complexion.

"Nino, Adrien, I'd like for you to meet Louise Fabron." Marinette gave a small bow towards the redhead to direct our attention to her. Nino stood a bit slack-jawed at Chloé's doppelgänger, but I couldn't help but stare at Marinette. She was fairly confident and playful as she joked with this younger girl and welcomed her into our group. She definitely did better in large groups instead of one-on-one with me. I made a mental note to try to have more of these group hang-outs. Maybe she'd finally feel more at ease with me. In the meantime, perhaps I could finally get to know her better, like a normal human being instead of a stalker.

"Dude, like, you look _just_ like her!" Nino circled Louise like a shark, his eyes scanning for any flaw outside her hair color.

"Thank you," she giggled back.

"No, I mean, but why?"

"Oh! Well, because Chloé is amazing, isn't she?"

The four of us exchanged knowing glances. We all wanted to deter the girl, but we also didn't want to break her heart. On top of that, at least I believed there was still good in Chloé, and perhaps having such a devoted fan would be exactly what she'd need to bring that good out. Besides, I just couldn't drag my oldest friend through the mud, even if she was rarely that sweet girl anymore.

"Come on," Louise continued when none of us spoke up, "she's confident and beautiful. She knows who she is and won't compromise that for anyone. She's crafty, assertive, and resourceful. She aims to always get what she wants. She also has the most devoted and loyal friends. Who wouldn't want to be like that?"

While it was a twisted way of looking at Chloé – her manipulations and cold, cruel treatment of our classmates - it was also a kind of refreshing way to look at her. Ladybug always seemed to believe there was good in everyone, and Marinette seemed to think the same – ironically, outside of Chloé – so it was a great lesson to learn yet again that people should trust that everyone is generally good. I should have more faith in Chloé. She had proven herself capable of still being that sweet girl I knew from childhood, she just needed more incentive to stay that way instead of the spoiled and vapid brat her father allowed her to become.

What stung the most about Louise's views on Chloé was the redhead's belief that Chloé had devoted friends. That certainly didn't define me anymore. I began to hang out with her less and less as the days passed and I got closer to Nino, Alya, and Marinette. My loyalties were definitely more with them. I tried to bring Chloé along with me, to open her up to the possibility of having more than just me as a friend and Sabrina as a faultless lackey. At the very least, both Ladybug and I, as Adrien, have tried to convince Chloé to treat Sabrina as a true best friend, an equal, instead of treating her like my father does Nathalie.

Chloé wasn't who this younger girl thought she was, but part of me wanted to believe that Chloé could be.

"I see you went full-Bourgeois," Alya shook her head in dismay. "What compelled you to start _dressing_ like her?"

"I've always wanted to look just like her. This was just the first time I had the full outfit just right. Well, almost." Louise paid the sunglass clerk and placed the white framed, oval-rimmed sunglasses on the top of her head like a tiara. "Voila!"

I marveled at the fact that the glasses even had the thin black stripe along the underside of the arms. It was a perfect replica of Mrs. Bourgeois's sunglasses that Chloé now treasured. Louise must have studied her idol with an eagle's eye. The more creeped out I felt, the guiltier I also felt. Was what this girl doing all that different from my extracurricular as Chat Noir? How was one alright and the other not?

"Louise," Marinette placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder, and spoke with a soft but concerned tone. "Remember that Louise Fabron is pretty cool too. You can be all the things you see in Chloé, but still be you. Don't lose yourself. I like Louise. I can't exactly say the same about Chloé."

Louise's face darkened as she nearly snarled at Marinette. "Yeah, well, Louise isn't popular, but she will be once she's more like Chloé." The girl shrugged Marinette off her and ran away from us in a huff.

Marinette called after her, but Alya pulled her back and told her not to try.

"She has to figure it out on her own. You tried your best, Marinette." Alya gave her best friend a quick but deep hug before ushering us back towards the movie theater.

As we lined up to buy our tickets, I leaned into Marinette's ear.

"That was really sweet, what you said to Louise, about liking her for who she is and that she should never lose that. You're a really great friend. I hope you know that."

Marinette remained quiet, and she began studying the carpet as a soft pink again kissed her cheeks. A smile stayed tightly fixated on her lips, though, so I knew she appreciated the sentiment.

Alya rushed us through the concessions before racing us to the theater. The movie trivia was still playing on the screen when we got there, so Alya paused to scan for the best seats.

"There!" Alya pointed to a row of five seats about half way up and centered. "No clue why no one picked them yet. We must be lucky."

I placed a hand in my pocket and ran my fingers over the plastic beads of Marinette's lucky charm bracelet. Perhaps it did strike again. I was able to hang out with my friends, I managed a conversation with Marinette – however brief – I was able to see a few different sparks of the Marinette I've only previously seen hidden in her bedroom, we've made it to the theater in time, and now we could all sit together in really decent seats. Plagg and the Cat Miraculous couldn't darken the good luck Marinette's lucky charm seemed to bring me.

We settled into our seats. Nino and Alya sat together so she wouldn't give me a death glare again. Marinette was on Alya's left, and I was on Nino's right, with a vacant seat to my other side. We each chatted for a minute or two, but just as the first preview started Alya sighed.

"Great," she grumbled, "I found the one seat below an A/C vent. I'm going to be frozen this whole movie."

"I could keep you warm, babe." Nino wagged his eyebrows as he wrapped an arm around Alya's shoulders and pulled her in. She instantly pushed away from him and growled his name in a soft scold.

"We could switch seats if you'd like," Marinette offered, "I don't mind. I'm the only one of us with long sleeves on anyway. It won't bother me."

"Marinette, you're too sweet."

Alya and Marinette awkwardly shuffled around each other to switch seats. In the shifting, some of Marinette's popcorn tumbled out of the top of the bag and rained down on the patrons sitting in front of us. Embarrassed, she meekly muttered apologies as she settled into Alya's old seat. Once seated, she pulled her feet up onto the chair and hid behind her knees as she sheepishly began nibbling on her popcorn.

The previews continued, and Alya periodically leaned over Marinette to get Nino's attention to comment about a shot, scene, or upcoming release date for the movies being promoted. Marinette silently chuckled to herself as she tried to dodge out of the way so the couple didn't have to keep leaning around her. Finally, she offered to switch with Nino so the lovebirds could sit next to each other again. She was thanked a second time, and the two of them did their own shuffle to exchange seats.

This time, however, Marinette's popcorn didn't survive the musical chairs. Her foot caught something, and she tumbled forward. I jumped up to catch her, but her popcorn dropped to the floor, carpeting the rest of our row.

"You okay?" I bent down to try to help her scoop her popcorn back into the bag.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I just wish I wasn't such a klutz."

"I wouldn't worry about it. Did you want me to buy you another bag, though?"

"No, no, that's alright. I still have my box of chocolates." She rattled the small concession stand box of chocolate covered peanuts. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to miss the start of the movie."

She placed the trashed bag of popcorn under her seat and settled in, popping open the pour corner of her box of chocolates.

"Well, what's a movie without popcorn, right?" I grabbed my bag from the vacant seat beside me and placed it on my left knee so it was between us. "I never finish a full bag, so you can steal some if you'd like."

"Y-y-you want m-me? Me to share? Popcorn with you? Your popcorn? I could have?" There was that nervous giggle I had grown accustomed to, but not the joy-filled one that froze me on her balcony five nights before. I simply shrugged back at her, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and started filtering it into my mouth.

"Would you like a chocolate?" She softly offered with another gentle rattle of the box.

"Sure. Thanks." I threw the rest of the popcorn into my mouth, wiped my hand off on my jeans, and held it out for her to pour a few peanuts onto my palm.

After I dropped the peanuts into my mouth one at a time, I felt the popcorn bag shift. She pulled her hand away with a fist full of popcorn, opened it in front of her, and picked one kernel at a time from her hand.

"You sure you don't want to sit next to Nino? I could shift again." Marinette motioned to stand up. I held up an open palm to stay her before grabbing another handful of popcorn. Once more I funneled it into my mouth.

"Nah. You've moved enough. This seat is fine. Besides, I think Nino and I would be too tempted to spend the whole movie muttering about it to each other. We'd drive you and Alya crazy, I'm sure. It's probably best that we ended up shifting around. I'd hate to disturb their date."

As if on cue, Nino commented about not feeling a draft, and was promptly elbowed by his girlfriend as she shushed him.

"Wait!" Marinette had that panicked look again. "They're on a date? You really think we're invading their date? But they asked us to come. You don't think they meant for this to be a double date? I mean this isn't-. Is this supposed to be-? I mean, not that I would ever want to go on a date with you. Pfft. Er- no! Not that it would be terrible to go on a date with you. I'm sure it would be fantastic. That is, if you wanted this to be a date. But you don't, right?"

Poor Marinette. She clearly didn't want to hurt my feelings by straight out telling me that she only saw me as a friend. I couldn't very well comfort her by reassuring her that I was in love with Ladybug though. I wasn't about ready to be laughed at for my "crush" on a superheroine.

"No, no. I think we're more like chaperones. Although from the way that Alya is already resting her head on Nino's shoulder, we're kind of bad at our jobs."

Marinette giggled! Honestly giggled! Aside from my umbrella closing on her that first week we met, this was the first time I had made her laugh. My whole body felt warm at the realization that I had done it: not only had I heard her genuinely giggle, but I had caused it. I palmed the outside of my right pocket, feeling the outline of the charm tucked inside. I quietly thanked it for the luck it was bringing me, and then mentally thanked Marinette for gifting it to me in the first place.

I tilted the bag of popcorn towards Marinette. "Feel free to take some more." I then scooped up a handful of kernels.

A rosy hue returned to her cheeks as she bashfully looked away. Did she really think I secretly wanted this to be a date, simply because I was offering my popcorn? How was I going to fix this?

While I racked my brain to figure out how I could prove to Marinette that I didn't think this was a double date I reached for more popcorn. Marinette had also moved for the bag, and her fingers brushed mine. I instantly dropped the kernels I had grabbed as my hand flinched. She whipped her arm back and held the part of her hand that brushed mine like it was burnt.

"Um, sorry."

"No problem." I awkwardly chuckled and realized it didn't sound anything like my normal laugh. What was wrong with me?

We sat silently for a few seconds, unmoving. I just focused on the last preview, unsure what else to say or do with Marinette beside me. Since she had clearly given up on having some of my popcorn – not that I blamed her - I again reached for more.

I felt her fingers against mine.

Once more we jumped and nervously giggled.

"S-sorry. Go ahead. It's your popcorn."

"Don't worry about it, I had offered to split it." I leaned the bag towards her. I watched as she snatched her snack. Once she had pulled her hand fully away, I reached for my own. We attentively watched the top of the bag the next few grabs to make sure the other didn't already have their hand there.

"Here. You can have some more too." Marinette held out her box of chocolate peanuts.

I smiled and held my hand out for her to pour three more peanuts onto my awaiting palm.

As the movie started, Marinette and I got into a pretty decent rhythm in sharing my popcorn and passing the box of her chocolate covered peanuts back and forth. The confusion about us possibly being on a date seemed to have vanished as we began to relax. With no one to my right, and Marinette fixated on the screen, I was even able to sneak Plagg a few pieces of popcorn in the dark. The true highlight of my day though, was that, aside from feeding my kwami, I felt like I was a normal kid.

I wasn't a model. I wasn't a celebrity. I wasn't the son of Gabriel Agreste. I didn't have a bodyguard. I wasn't a superhero. Most importantly, I wasn't some creeper who had to spy on his friends to find out details about them.

Better yet, things seemed normal with Marinette. Not _our_ normal, but your average teenage friends normal. She was intently watching the movie – which was as exciting and witty as we had all hoped – and she was calmly sharing movie snacks with me like I truly was just some average Joe. She wasn't on edge, and didn't act weird at all, aside from placing random chocolate covered peanuts into her purse every now and again. It seemed a weird and potentially messy way to save left-overs, but I try not to judge, considering I have to carry stinky Camembert wherever I go to appease a small cat-like magical being that grants me superpowers.

All-in-all, the hang-out was going smoothly, that is, until we got about fifty minutes into the movie. The popcorn had gotten a little low, so instead of leaving the bag on my leg, Marinette and I started passing it back and forth so we could tilt it for easier access. Our hand-offs became second nature after a couple of clunky exchanges. We weren't even watching our hands anymore as we mindlessly tag-teamed grabbing popcorn and tossing it into our mouths. Our eyes were instead glued to the movie screen.

The scene was dark, the music was ominous and intense, and the main character Lucas was creeping through an abandoned warehouse with his gun drawn. There was no dialog, just Lucas breathing hard as he tried to steady his nerves. Pulled fully into the scene, Marinette grabbed her handful of popcorn, and shifted her wrist to pass the bag back to me. Then, as my hand closed in on the bag, and Lucas closed in on a window, a bird flew through and nearly crashed into the movie's lead.

The jump scare did what it was supposed to: both Marinette and I flinched; startled by the unexpected bird. Unfortunately, the successful jump scare also meant that the bag of popcorn went flying. The remaining third of the bag rained back down on us, and the empty bag bounced off my knee on its way to the floor.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Marinette hid behind her hands.

"Well, you're now two for two on popcorn bags," I laughed, "so at least you've got a perfect score."

She curled up in her seat and some popcorn kernels tumbled off her shoulders.

 _Way to go, Agreste,_ I chided myself, _Make her feel self-conscious about her clumsiness, that's how to get her to relax around you._

I looked down at the pile of popcorn that had pooled onto my lap. I scooped up a handful and offered it to her.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We were mostly done anyway, and the popcorn is still perfectly good. Want some?" I plucked a kernel out of my hand and popped it into my mouth.

She softened beside me and gave me a grateful smile. She then scooped popcorn off her own lap and began eating that. I took my hand back and kept eating the remains of our shared snack. Soon enough the stray kernels were all eaten and we tucked the empty bag into Marinette's trashed popcorn.

With our snacks gone we didn't have that mindless flow between us. We were both still sitting next to each other and watching the same movie, but we weren't connected any longer. I could have been sitting alone in my room. The disconnect began to distract me. While I was still mostly paying attention to the movie, I also started to keep an eye on Marinette to remind myself that I was there with friends.

I watched her tense up in suspenseful scenes, and sigh with relief when they were done. I watched her laugh, and I watched her give a knowing look whenever Lucas flirted to no avail with his partner Iva. Watching her reactions to the movie was almost as entertaining as the film itself.

Another forty-minutes or so into the film, Lucas and Iva were chasing the villain through a crowded Italian street. The ancient road was narrow, and a bit claustrophobic between quick shaky-cam shots and blurred racing through the tightly packed crowd. The two heroes tracked their prey up to the top floor of an old fort of some kind. The villain was gone; seemingly vanished. Lucas and Iva slowly combed the floor, their eyes peeled for any ambushes.

Marinette started creeping to the edge of her chair; her foot bouncing slightly.

The only sound was the soft crunch of Lucas and Iva's shoes on the loose gravel scattered across the deteriorating floor. The protagonists got closer and closer to a window the camera would not turn away from. Then came the echoing cackle of the villain, bouncing off the stone walls, and making it sound like it was coming from everywhere at once.

Marinette leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. Her hands covered her mouth as she sharply inhaled in preparation for the next bit.

Lucas and Iva were perfectly aligned with the window. Their backs were to each other so they could try to look around them for the source of the laughter. Something whizzed out from the shadows and slammed hard into them. They stumbled sideways and out the window.

I felt a squeeze. I looked down and Marinette had a firm grip of my left hand. Her eyes were still trained on the screen and she kept sliding further and further to the edge of her seat. I wasn't entirely sure she even realized she had grabbed my hand instead of the arm rest. I debated pulling away, but I didn't want to embarrass her. Especially after she tried so hard to not shatter my non-existent crush before.

In the movie, Lucas was clinging to the crumbling ledge of the window he fell out of. Barely holding on below him dangled Iva.

As Iva's grip on the side of the fort slipped Marinette's grip on my hand tightened. I found myself gently squeezing back. I don't know if it was to help comfort her, or because I was also caught up in the tension of the scene. Either way, a chill ran through me. _It's probably just the suspense of the movie_ , I told myself, but still, my own grip on Marinette's hand tightened slightly.

The brick that Iva was hanging from chipped under her weight. Lucas precariously reached out his hand for her to grab. The more Iva pushed on the stone to reach Lucas's hand the faster the brick split from the wall. As her perch broke fully from the structure Lucas snatched her from her plummet.

Marinette's fingernails began to poke me as she squeezed harder. I became acutely aware of my heart beats as I watched the heroes barely cling to the side of the building. My eyes darted between the screen and Marinette, watching her and trying to catch her reaction before it startled me further.

Iva's grip around Lucas's wrist was too loose, and she was beginning to slip again. Lucas struggled to raise her up to the window ledge for her to grab. His arm was shaky. Her fingers twitched as they tried to find better purchase. Lucas' own grasp of the ledge began to fail. Iva pleaded for him to let her go so he could get a better handhold and survive. He refused. She let go of his arm, in hopes that he'd lose his hold on her. He yelled for her to grab on again. He kicked his feet to the wall to try to get leverage. Iva slid a few centimeters through Lucas's fingers.

Then a low buzz sounded throughout the theater, again startling me and Marinette. The recording of a female voice calmly accompanied the buzzing. "Akuma alert. Ladybug and Chat Noir are expected to handle this emergency swiftly. All visitors, kindly vacate the premises very calmly. Thank you." There was a twenty second pause before the recording started over again. The buzzing never ceased.

"An akuma?" Marinette, Alya, and I all called out in unison. My mind raced to figure out how to break away from my friends so I could become Chat Noir.

 _Break away._ Marinette must have realized the same thing as our eyes darted to our hands, still interlocked from the tension of the movie scene we were just watching. Blushing, we quickly ripped them apart and tucked them to our sides.

"This is amazing!" Alya jumped out of her seat and checked how much battery life was left on her phone.

"What?" Marinette squawked and stiffened unnaturally straight.

"A supervillain right here in the mall? I'm sure I can track it down in time to get some good footage of Ladybug." Alya didn't wait for our row to be evacuated as she hopped over the other movie goers in order to reach the aisle.

"Whoa, Alya, wait up!" Nino grabbed for her wrist, but she had already vaulted the last person in the row.

"I can't wait! Who knows how much of the battle has already happened before they even set off the alert?" In a flash, Alya was gone.

"Alya! Wait up!" Nino hurried past the other patrons as he attempted to catch up.

Marinette was flushed, and her eyes were scanning for her own quick exit. I wanted to run after Alya myself, or at least Nino. I wanted to stay close to Marinette. I wanted to usher all three of them outside so they'd be safe from whatever was going on throughout the mall.

I felt Plagg shift behind my covershirt, and I knew that Ladybug also needed Chat Noir. Who knew how long she was already fighting the supervillain, and here I was watching a movie? Marinette and Nino could corral Alya and keep her safe. Plus, I could help them more as Chat Noir. The faster I could help Ladybug capture this akuma the sooner my friends would be safe. I had to find an escape.

"This way." I tugged on Marinette's arm and pulled her over a couple of seats. The row in front of us had cleared faster than ours did, so I picked Marinette up by her waist and lowered her over the other side of the seats. "Go after Alya. I'll make sure to find a safe way out." To add to my rouse, I started shuffling with the others in our row as we slowly emptied into the aisle. I could have easily hopped over each row of seats, but I needed to separate myself from Marinette without her getting suspicious.

We paused for a moment, just staring at each other. I nodded for her to go on, that I'd be fine. She rose in her determination and nodded back.

"I'm going to get Alya, and make sure she doesn't get too close to the battle." Marinette spoke matter-of-factly, like she was letting me know she was making a grocery run, "Evacuate with everyone else, don't wait for us. I'll have us all meet up outside the doors we came in." Without waiting for my acknowledgement, she turned and sprinted through the crowd in order to find our friends. Marinette was so stern in her orders that I almost followed them. I shook my head to clear it.

Once Marinette was out of the theater, I hopped the seats in order to climb to the back of the theater. A few people asked if I was insane, trying to get trapped in the theater, but no one bothered to stop me and force me to evacuate. As I reached the wall just below the projection room the last of the other movie goers flowed out the exits.

"Now I won't know what happens in the movie," pouted Plagg.

"Nevermind that. We're late. Plagg, Claws Out!"

Once transformed, I raced through the other screening rooms of the movie theater, to make sure everyone was out. All clear. I then ran to the main portion of the mall and hoped that Marinette had already escorted Alya and Nino outside. At the same time, I worried that she'd wonder where I was and would want to come back in to try to find me.

I didn't have long to think about it as Ladybug landed beside me.

She wore a red bodysuit and matching red mask, both speckled with black spots. She was slender and looked to be about my age, especially with her night-dark hair tied back into pigtails by long red ribbons. At least, I hoped she was close to fourteen. Alya had found a hieroglyph on a papyrus in the King Tut exhibit that showcased a warrior woman that wielded a yo-yo and wore spots. My lady didn't look centuries old, though.

"There, you are, Kitty. Kept you long enough to catch up." Ladybug teased as she attached her magical yo-yo back onto her hip. She glanced over her shoulder at the theater, probably wondering why I just came from there.

"Sorry, my lady, I was just taking in a _cat_ -inee. Maybe if we can defeat this supervillain quickly we could have enough time to catch the next one. I hear _If Only_ is quite the romance." I wagged my eyebrows at her. She simply rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Where's the supervillain?"

"I thought you were already fighting it this whole time." I instantly got serious as I listened for a clue to the villain's whereabouts. The Akuma Alert message had stopped, which made it easier to listen for stray sounds.

I didn't need to listen all that attentively to hear a group of people screaming.

"The food court," the two of us said together.

Ladybug took her yo-yo back off her hip and started spinning it to the side of her in order to have it prepped for an attack. I took my baton and lengthened it to about a meter long so I was also ready. With a knowing nod, we raced off towards the screaming.

* * *

 ****A/N: Thus ends the two-part Adrienette blush-fest. Did anyone pick up that Alya orchestrated the whole thing? Pretending to be sick on the train to give those two some alone time, and then pretending to be under an A/C to get Adrienette to sit together? She's cheeky, isn't she?**

 **I tried to model Mari's freak-out about the potential double date off her freak out about the rumor of her being Adrien's girlfriend in "Gorizilla," and their first popcorn exchange off their game controller grabs in "Gamer." I also clearly ignored Adrien's claim from "Gorizilla" that he never went to the movies with a friend before... which also makes sense since the four of them presumably went to the movies together at the end of "Copycat" anyway...**

 **So, peeps, a** **ny predictions on the upcoming akuma?**

 **Also, what do you guys think of Louise's view of Chloe? Sweet in a naive sort of way, huh?****


	5. Mimicker

****A/N: Thank you to my beloved readers. I have nearly 100 follows and 60 faves. That is so cool! I've never had so much love in such a short time before. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Hope you guys want a long chapter, because this is the longest one thus far in the story!****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 5: MIMICKER**

"Whoa."

"You've got to be kidding me!" As we skidded to a stop at the entrance of the mall's food court, Ladybug mumbled beside me. Her sigh deflated her like a tire losing air.

The entire food court was filled with panicked teenage girls with full-bodied blonde ponytails, white capris, and yellow jackets. Every last one of them was an identical Chloé clone.

"Ladybug?" One of them cried out when she noticed us. It drew the attention of the crowd around her and they all turned to face us. Each one had Chloé's face, and they each had an exasperated look. In unison, all fourteen of them asked in Chloé's graveled voice "What kept you so long?"

"Chat?" Ladybug folded almost completely in half, her yo-yo limp against the floor. She glared up at me with a look that nearly matched the clan of Chloés. "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"

"Hey!" All fourteen Chloés who had seen us stomped their feet to get our attention. "Are you going to rescue us, or what?"

"Either this food court is swarmed by nearly a hundred Chloé Bourgeois clones, or we're jointly hallucinating," I reassured Ladybug.

"Ug, I was hoping for hallucinating. Why is it always Chloé?" Ladybug straightened and attached her yo-yo to her hip. We waded out into the sea of Chloés. Ladybug called out to get the whole food court to focus on us, "Can any of you tell me-"

"Ladybug!" The rest of the Chloé swarm turned and raced towards us. We got shoved and pulled as each Chloé tried to garner Ladybug's attention. They hollered at her in deafening unison, and also talked over each other as they each claimed to be the most distraught.

"You have to help me, Ladybug."

"No, me, Ladybug!"

"If you don't help me, my father, the mayor, will hear about this!"

"I thought you were a hero, so why aren't you stopping that supervillain?"

Ladybug tried to interject that she was trying to help, but she didn't know anything about the villain, and the only ones that did – the clones - weren't helping her. She couldn't get much of a word in edgewise, though. It was even worse for me. The Chloés wanted nothing to do with me. As far as the actual Chloé Bourgeois is concerned, Chat Noir was simply Ladybug's sidekick. It seemed these clones had the same thought.

After getting a bit roughed up by the panicked crowd, Ladybug gave up attempting to get anything out of them. She fumbled for her yo-yo, wrestled her arm free from the Chloé Clones swarming her, and managed to throw her yo-yo over an exposed rafter. Holding tightly onto the yo-yo's string, Ladybug zipped out of the horde and flew towards the wide main hallway of the mall. The second Ladybug shot out of the food court the clones converged on me instead; the only remaining superhero. I quickly thrust my baton towards the floor and extended it to pole vault after Ladybug.

"Wow, I guess so many Chloés really _bugged_ you, huh?" I winked as I landed next to Ladybug. She sighed, already a thousand-percent done with this akuma attack.

"They weren't telling us anything and-" Her eyes widened and she grabbed my wrist to pull me. "Chat Noir! Run!"

I looked behind me to see the herd of Chloé Clones noticing where Ladybug and I had disappeared to. They stampeded towards us, all crying out for help and yelling at us for abandoning them. I allowed Ladybug to pull me as we raced from the tidal wave.

Running through the hall, I spotted an empty soft pretzel shop. I shifted my hand on Ladybug's wrist so I had the control, and I tugged her towards the shop. We dove behind the counter just before the clones could see where we went.

The Chloés rumbled past us in a frantic rush through the mall. Ladybug and I huddled close against the shop counter and prayed the stampede would pass us unnoticed. As we pressed against the metal counter I got a waft of butter, salt, and chocolate. I thought it was the seasonings for the pretzels, but quickly realized it was my lady. It threw me off. Normally, she carried the scent of Paris with her by way of wind and Parisian flowers. My body took over, and I leaned in to sniff her hair, absorbing her new scent.

As the pounding of hundreds of feet died down, Ladybug turned to give me the all clear, and caught me smelling her pigtails. All I could do was give a bashfully guilty grin and shrug. Thankfully, she wasn't offended by my faux pas. She simply groaned, rolled her eyes, and shifted away from me.

"This is ridiculous," she grumbled as she checked to make sure none of the Chloé Clones was lingering. "Of course we have to deal with a flood of Chloés while also trying to figure out what is going on with this akuma. Because one Chloé Bourgeois getting in the way all the time isn't enough." Ladybug huffed around to the employee entrance of the pretzel shop once she was certain we were alone.

Over my embarrassment of getting caught smelling her hair, I hardened my voice. "Sure, Chloé can be annoying, but she's also helped us out a few times in the past as well." I walked over to join her, but made sure to stay out of her personal bubble. I had already invaded that one too many times that day. "Why can't you cut her some slack? And all of those Chloés in the food court weren't even her. They're victims of the akuma."

Ladybug took a deep breath through her nose before softly nodding. "You're right. She just-" She finished her sentence with a low, throaty growl.

I knew that Chloé was difficult to handle for a lot of people, and I knew that she wasn't Ladybug's favorite person, but I was beginning to see just how much she got under my lady's skin. It didn't make much sense, though. Chloé idolized Ladybug, always spoke highly of her, typically acted her nicest around her hero, and had indeed assisted in purifying a couple of akumas.

Then again, she had caused her fair share of akumas in the first place. About a third of them were caused by something Chloé said or did. Being the constant beacon for akumatized supervillains was probably the main source of Ladybug's irritation.

"Why is there an army of Chloés anyway? What would the supervillain want with so many copies? Who would-?" Ladybug's eyes widened and whipped her head towards the direction the Chloé stampede had gone. "Oh no. I think I know who's been akumatized. There's a girl who idolizes Chloé, and probably would love more of her in the world."

I instantly pictured the girl that Marinette introduced me to earlier. I was confused how Ladybug knew of Louise, but if she kept tabs on Chloé she may have noticed the redhead.

"You mean Louise?"

She whipped back to face me. "You know her?"

"Not really. I only recently found out that Chloé had a number one fan besides herself and Sabrina, but I think you might be right that she's probably our girl."

Ladybug's face fell. She pulled her arms and legs in tight, making herself look as small as possible. "Chat? I- I think I might have caused this supervillain. If it is Louise, something I said about Chloé may have upset her enough to be akumatized. How could I have done that?"

"Hey, come on. You're allowed to slip up every once in a while, just like every other person. You screwed up with Lila, but you made it right – or at least tried to – in the end. You'll do the same with Louise. You're a great superhero and protector of Paris. We can figure this out."

She gave a single nod and soft grunt of agreement. I slowly reached out to touch her shoulder to comfort her further. Before my fingers could rest on her red bodysuit, a new set of screams erupted from a boutique down the hall.

I would recognize that scream anywhere. "That sounded like-"

"Chloé. A lot of them." Ladybug completed. She threw her yo-yo and hooked the banister along the second floor, using it to swing herself to the boutique within a few seconds. Using my baton to again catapult myself forward, I made it to the store a few hops later.

It looked like twenty or so patrons and mall employees had tried hiding in the boutique instead of evacuating during the Akuma Alert. Unfortunately, nearly all of them were already Chloé Clones. In the center of the store, standing on a display to have easier access to the cowering citizens, stood the supervillain.

She had reptilian pale-green skin that drastically contrasted the angled red ponytail that seemed to shimmer other colors if the light hit it right. She wore a black bodysuit with white accents and matching white mid-shin boots. Draped around her shoulders and down her arms was a yellow shrug jacket, and hanging loosely off her hips was a thick black belt. The belt had two rows of glowing orbs wrapping its full length. Each orb was about the size of a shooter marble, and the akuma kept plucking them off her belt to toss at the civilians.

She cackled and cried out, "Seems Chloé Bourgeois isn't so unique after all!"

"Louise, stop!" Ladybug slid between a scared employee and one of the thrown orbs, deflecting it by spinning her yo-yo in front of them like a shield.

"It's about time you've come to Chloé's rescue, Ladybug. And the name isn't Louise anymore. I'm the Mimicker now."

"Mimicker?" The shrug the supervillain wore did vaguely resemble Chloé's jacket, and the thick belt she used as her weapon bandoleer hinted at the studded belt Chloé wore. Even the bodysuit Mimicker wore was black and white, much like Chloé's signature outfit. Still, Copy Cat was an identical match to me, and Anti-Bug had the same exact outfit as Ladybug, but with reverse coloring. I just wasn't seeing how Louise's Chloé-inspired akuma outfit was close enough for the supervillain name.

Mimicker smiled at me and plucked another orb off her belt, causing a replacement to instantly form in its place. She rolled the detached orb between her fingers and across her palm. "Ah, Chat Noir, I knew you couldn't be too far behind. Yes. Mimicker. Want me to show you why?" Before Ladybug or I could react, the villain spun on her toes and hurled the orb at one of the cornered mall patrons.

It hit the civilian in the center of his chest. A light flashed from the orb, engulfing the victim. As the light died down, he was replaced by another Chloé. She quickly examined herself before turning to Ladybug and berating her for not stopping the attack.

Mimicker laughed and snapped another orb off her belt. She pulled her arm back to ready another throw, this time aiming at Ladybug, but was halted in her wind up when the purple outline of a butterfly glowed around her eyes.

"Right away, Hawk Moth," she replied to whatever Paris' ultimate supervillain said to her during their telepathic connection. The butterfly outline faded and Mimicker refocused on Ladybug.

The akuma again readied her throw with her right hand, but held out her left. "Your Miraculous now if you don't want to spend the rest of your life as Miss Bourgeois."

I can't be sure, but I thought I saw Ladybug shudder. She was freezing up. I had to refocus her. I threw my baton at Mimicker's hand, knocking the orb out. It landed harmlessly on the floor and fizzled out.

"Neither of us are giving up anything." I slid beside Ladybug and held my fists up, ready to punch if I needed.

Mimicker snarled at me as she rubbed the hand I hit with my baton. Her eyes darkened behind the white, oval-rimmed visor that covered the top half of her face. It kept me a second to realize that they were supposed to be Mimicker's version of Chloé's sunglasses.

"You can tell Hawk Moth he might as well give up now, because Chat Noir's right. We're keeping our Miraculouses." I felt the wind from Ladybug's yo-yo spinning beside her. She was renewed and ready for battle.

"Let's see if you change your tune once there's no more citizens to save." Mimicker grabbed more orbs from her belt, and replacements again popped into existence. She had an orb pinned between each of her index and middle fingers, as well as between each of her ring fingers and pinkies. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she pivoted and threw her hands out. The four orbs shot out from her fingers and landed on the last of the huddled citizens.

They each briefly glowed with the flash of light before becoming Chloé, and then they joined in with the chorus chiding our incompetence as superheroes. Ladybug and I rushed Mimicker. We briefly fought, but we couldn't manage a hit. She deftly avoided my punches and kicks; easily blocking any I could land. Ladybug had, surprisingly, just as bad luck as me at hitting the villain. The best she could do was use her yo-yo to keep Mimicker's hands away from her belt.

"Ladybug! Chat Noir! Help me, please!" Chloé called out to us. This time a solitary voice.

"Little busy. Just run away while we have her distracted." Ladybug didn't even bother looking for the location of the voice. We had too many Chloés calling out to us already for her to care to distinguish one from the other. They all wanted to be rescued, anyway. This one wasn't anything new.

Yet, there was something about this one's voice that did seem different. There was an urgency and fear the others didn't have.

"Please, I don't want to get hit too." The second voice was meeker, a bit more nasally, and had a squeak to it. I stole a glance over my shoulder. Hiding behind a display with one of the Chloés was Sabrina. Her copper hair in a sea of blonde Chloé Clones was practically a signal flare that someone was left untransformed.

The girls were against the back wall of the boutique. Ladybug and my fight with Mimicker was blocking their escape. Even though I had been able to scoop up my baton throughout our sparring, I wouldn't be able to get Sabrina out fast enough using just that. I didn't have enough height before hitting the ceiling. If we were outside, among the streets of Paris, I could shoot over the villain's head and escape with Sabrina easily. I had done so with Marinette and even Ladybug quite a few times. I was nearly useless inside, though.

I knew that, trapped inside the boutique, I couldn't save them, but my partner easily could even with such tight quarters.

"Ladybug." I nodded to where Sabrina was and raced in to swing at Mimicker, keeping the supervillain busy. My partner knew exactly what I had in mind. Yet another reason why we're perfect together. We didn't need that many words to understand each other.

As I kept Mimicker at bay and away from her orbs, Ladybug scooped up Sabrina and flew out of the boutique. Her yo-yo easily lassoed display hooks from the ceiling and used the leverage to swing completely around my fight.

Mimicker spotted Ladybug and an untransformed civilian leaving the store. Her focus on my partner escaping was just enough of a distraction for me to connect with my baton finally. I smacked her hard against the far wall, and the Chloés scattered. All but the one that was hiding with Sabrina.

"You!" She demanded as she wrapped one of my arms around her. "Are you going to get me out of here, or what?" She glared at me like she hated the idea of me holding her, let alone carrying her to safety. The other Chloés weren't as good of copies as this. I had suspected as much when I saw her with Sabrina, but with that demand I knew for certain that I had my arm around the real Chloé Bourgeois.

Mimicker got back to her feet and growled as she grabbed four more orbs the way she did before - one between each set of two fingers. I scooped Chloé up in a bridal carry and sprinted out of the store. I heard the missing orbs fizzle out just behind me, and I knew I narrowly escaped.

"Chat Noir! Over here!" Ladybug flagged me down from an offshoot hall with four smaller storefronts lining it.

Sabrina seemed safe. We were able to rescue at least one of Mimicker's intended victims. I placed Chloé's feet back on the floor, and she pushed away from me once her shoes touched the linoleum.

"Ladybug!" Chloé bounded over to her hero and swung her arms around Ladybug's neck before my lady could deflect and dodge. Once again, Ladybug deflated under Chloé's grip. She snaked out from the bear hug and stepped closer to me.

"So Mimicker can create copies of Chloé." The irritation from this akuma attack was oozing from Ladybug's words.

"Terrible imitations, you mean!" Chloé interrupted. Ladybug gave me a quick glare.

"She's right," I gestured towards Chloé. "The copies are good, but they aren't perfect. I could tell this is the real Chloé." I softened my eyes and hoped Ladybug understood what I meant: _I needed to rescue her, she wasn't one of the clones._

"Alright, fine." Ladybug held up a hand to stop a fight that didn't even exist. She shook her head at me before storming up to Chloé. "Why did Mimicker say that you're not so unique now? Why is she creating copies of you?"

Chloé humphed at the affront and folded her arms across her chest. "How am I supposed to know?"

"Maybe it's because you told her to not copy your style," interjected Sabrina. She instantly shied away when Chloé glared at her. I wasn't sure if Sabrina was more afraid of Mimicker or confronting her best friend.

"You yelled at Louise for dressing like you?" I stepped beside Ladybug, trying to relax Chloé enough to talk.

"Well, yeah. I mean, you should have seen the department-store frock she put together to pose as me. And those sunglasses she had were a mockery of my mother's!"

Ladybug clenched her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Chloé, can't you ever just be nice to people?"

Chloé gasped and took a step back. "What do you mean? I- I'm nice. Aren't I nice, Sabrina?"

Her lackey simply nodded her head obediently.

"Ladybug-" I knew now wasn't the time to fight about this.

"Face it, Chloé," Ladybug continued undeterred. "You are a bully and mean to anyone you don't think is worth your time."

"I am not a bully. I simply tell everyone the truth. How is it my fault that no one can handle criticism?"

"There are nicer ways of breaking the truth to someone. The girl idolized you, and now she wants revenge on you. She's also not the first supervillain to do so. Tell me how this isn't your fault?"

"Ladybug." I called louder; sterner. I used a tone I never use with her. I sounded sickeningly like my father.

"You're blaming me for someone being jealous? I can't believe you'd attack me like this!" Chloé was pressed into Ladybug's face and they both tried to stare the other down. Before it escalated further, I grabbed Ladybug's arm and pulled her to the side.

"Ladybug! Now!" I couldn't believe I was yelling at _her_ , of all people. I lead her to the end of the offshoot hall we were hiding in. "Okay, spill. What is wrong with you?"

"Wrong with me?" Ladybug became defensive, crossing her arms just like Chloé.

"Look, you're right about Chloé, but you were being a bit of a bully there yourself. She has an akuma after her, and there are probably hundreds of people running around wearing her face. She's stressed and defensive. Can't you cut her some slack?"

Ladybug dropped her arms and softly nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. She just- just-" Like before, she didn't finish her sentence. Instead, her description for Chloé was simply an agitated growl.

"Okay, so she gets under your skin, obviously. Why? She idolizes you, and tends to be the best she can be around you. I'd think it would be cool to have a superfan."

Another humph and she re-crossed her arms. "Nevermind. Just forget it."

"I will if you can put it behind you and focus on Mimicker. Chloé's a victim, remember?"

"I don't need you to tell me my job, Chat Noir."

There was a bite to her words that stung. This wasn't the Ladybug I was used to. This wasn't the Ladybug that was my partner. This Ladybug was aggressive and defensive and a bit short tempered. I looked back at Chloé, who was mostly ignoring Sabrina in favor of filing her nails. I never understood it, but somehow the girl who was my only friend through most of my childhood had this power to take some of the sweetest girls I know, and turn them against her. Girls who saw the goodness in everyone. Girls like Marinette, and apparently Ladybug.

"Chat?" Ladybug had poked her head around the corner of the hall we were hiding in. Her voice was cautious. "What did you do to Mimicker when you rescued Chloé? Did you manage to pin her?"

"Pin her? No. I just smacked her into a side wall, but she-" My eyes went wide with realization. "She got right back up and threw more orbs at us."

"Then where is she? Why didn't she follow us?"

We ran back to Chloé and Sabrina, turned them towards one of the storefronts, and told them to run in and hide.

"Ladybug?"

"What do you need, Chloé?"

"Uh..." Chloé slowly turned. Both her and Sabrina looked petrified. "I wasn't the one who called you."

We whipped around and saw a single Chloé Clone standing at the hall entrance. She waved her right hand and an army of Chloé Clones flooded the exit leading back into the main portion of the mall. Standing behind them was Mimicker. She must have decided to round up her minions before attempting to find us.

"Congratulations, Chloé," Mimicker smirked, "you found Ladybug. Why not say hi and see if you can get a selfie?"

The army dashed forward. It was exactly like the food court, only worse since there were more clones brought into the fold. The tidal wave of Chloés crashed into us. They poked and pushed and tore at me to try to get to Ladybug. Those that could get close pulled and grappled and tugged at her. There were too many, and not enough space to zip free like we had before. Besides, the real Chloé and Sabrina were with us this time. We couldn't abandon them.

Having no other choice, we started taking the Chloés down. Sweeping their feet out from under them. Tossing the close ones into the larger crowd. Throwing them into the stores to either side of us and try to tangle them up in the displays. The real Chloé was protesting the whole time that we shouldn't take such perceived joy from beating her likeness up, but then she also whined about each one of the clones being terrible copies.

"I don't know, Chloé," Mimicker responded as she followed the stampeding herd. "I think they are all perfect copies. Shallow, hollow, whiny, and obsessed with Ladybug. Sounds just like you."

Chloé must have really done a number on this girl. Just a couple hours ago Louise thought Chloé was a fantastic role model. Everything Chloé did Louise had a positive spin for, and yet now she was just as jaded to Chloé as a lot of my friends were. It crushed me that Chloé became a bit more isolated instead of making a new friend. Why couldn't she be the sweet girl I knew she still was deep inside? Why the bravado? Why the elitism? What did it bring her?

"Chloé Bourgeois is just one of the masses now," Mimicker continued, "no longer unique. No longer above the others she looked down upon. Nothing special. Just an obsessed fan. Just like everyone else."

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug called out to me.

I hurled another clone over my shoulder and turned to see more duplicates pinning Ladybug down; inches from taking her earrings off. Extending my baton, I managed to thread it between a couple of them. With a heave, I was able to catapult them to the other side of the hallway, freeing one of Ladybug's arms. It was enough for her to slink away from the other clones; keeping her Miraculous.

Mimicker had made her way through her army and was hurling more orbs at Sabrina to try to convert Chloé's most trusted ally. Ladybug managed to get back to the two girls, and deflect the orbs.

"Chat Noir. Her belt!"

"Got it, M'lady! Cataclysm!" The glowing green cat paw on my ring flashed as I activated my ultimate power as Chat Noir. A black, swirling, energy burst centered around my extended right hand. An ominous black orb pulled the energy into a micro-black hole a few centimeters above my palm. As the last ribbon of dark aura absorbed into the black hole, I clenched my fist around it; splintering the aura through my fingers. It was now like my hand was death itself. All the destructive powers of the Cat Miraculous accumulated in my touch. Dark globules hovered around my right hand, bubbling out of the intense aura of destruction that had flooded my glove.

I kept my right fist clenched closed, careful to not touch anything with my Cataclysm-imbued glove. I only had one shot, and I couldn't chance touching the wrong thing. Using my left hand to swing my baton in front of me like my fencing saber, I knocked Chloés out of the way as I raced up on Mimicker.

"I think we've had enough Chloé Bourgeoises for a lifetime, don't you?" I reached out with my right hand, trying to grab for her belt. It was her weapon, which usually meant that was where the akuma had hid. Once I broke that, Ladybug could purify the magical bug, and this would all be over with. Instead, my banter alerted Mimicker too soon, and she turned in time to bat me away.

She missed my hand, so I still had my power, but she wouldn't let me near her. Noticing that I wasn't making any headway in my dance with Mimicker, Ladybug lassoed the villain to keep her still. Mimicker struggled, and nearly had the yo-yo back off by the time I managed to lunge towards her. Avoiding a kick to keep me at bay, I dove under her legs, hitting the belt as I slid across the floor.

The second the fingers on my right hand brushed Mimicker's belt a brittle rust seeped from my glove. It infected the black band wrapped around Mimicker's hips and quickly spread like an open wound bleeding out. The orbs lost the faint yellow glow inside them, instead crusting over like fossils.

Tossing Ladybug's yo-yo string from her shoulders, Mimicker angrily screamed and took a swing at me. I blocked her, kicked her away from me, and scurried over to help Ladybug protect Sabrina and Real Chloé. The taint of my Cataclysm reached all the way around Mimicker's belt, making it look like it was carved out of brittle stone.

I heard a low beep, and looked down at my ring. One of the cat paw pads blinked off, leaving the main palm and three finger pads left. A minute had already passed since I had activated Cataclysm. After I used my powers I only had five minutes before Plagg's energy would run out. Once that happened, I would be Adrien again, whether I'd want to transform back or not. We had to end this in less than four minutes, or everyone would know who Chat Noir truly was.

"L.B."

She had heard the beep as well, and also looked to double check my ring. "I know. Let's be quick."

Ladybug and I dodged a few more attacking Chloé Clones in order to get closer to Mimicker. We danced around her, double teaming our attacks to try to catch her off guard. Ladybug managed to wrap her yo-yo around Mimicker's wrists, holding her still just long enough for me to punch her belt. On impact, it burst into dust, which caused Mimicker to again roar in frustration.

Grabbing Ladybug's yo-yo string, she whipped my lady into me, knocking us away from her and freeing her hands.

"No matter. There weren't many more citizens to transform in here anyway. I still have more than enough to take you two down and bring your Miraculouses to Hawk Moth." Mimicker pointed at us and ordered for her army to attack. The Chloé Clones flooded in to crush us.

Ladybug and I fell back to protect Real Chloé and Sabrina, but we watched the the pile of ash that used to be Mimicker's belt. No black butterfly flew out of the remains. We had gotten it wrong, and I probably wasted my Cataclysm.

"We have to retreat and regroup," I called over to Ladybug.

She gave a simple nod, scooped up Sabrina, much to Chloé's protest, and flew over the grasping horde via her yo-yo. I wrapped my arm around Chloé, who pouted that I was the one carrying her instead of Ladybug, and leapt over the crowd to follow my partner.

We retreated back to the food court, and once more hid behind the counter of a food stall. I heard a second low beep, and another finger pad blinked off. Two minutes down, only three left before I was sunk.

I knew I should have been helping Ladybug figure out where the akuma could be, but instead my mind briefly wandered to the army of Chloés and how we were tossing them off of us. I knew that as bruised as they might be, once Ladybug used her ultimate power they would all be returned to their normal bodies, and any harm would be erased. It still sickened me that I had probably injured the citizens I swore to protect. I then hoped that none of them were Nino, or Alya, especially the way she ran off to film the action. It scared me that I hadn't seen either of them; it was unlikely that Alya actually evacuated of her own accord, so I hoped Nino and Marinette managed to convince her to leave.

 _Poor Marinette,_ I thought, _With the rivalry she has with Chloé, I can't imagine how much she must hate it if she's one of the clones._

It pained me to imagine any of my friends being part of the transformed masses, so I opted to picture them safely outside the mall. I wondered if they were trying to figure out where I had disappeared to, and I prayed that they weren't running back into the building to try to find me.

"I don't get it," Ladybug was saying beside me. "The belt looked liked Chloé's, and she was using it as a weapon. Where could the akuma be?"

I noticed Chloé and Sabrina huddled together in the kitchen section of the food stall. "Hey, Chloé was able to figure out the pin she gave Sabrina was akumatized, maybe she knows what the item is for Mimicker too."

I nodded over to Chloé to try to encourage her to think about it. Ladybug choked down a moan and nodded as well. I got a flash of pride in knowing that my talk with Ladybug may have worked; causing her to now give Chloé the benefit of the doubt.

"How am I supposed to know?" Chloé grumbled. "The only thing she had on her was that pathetic excuse for my outfit. I didn't see anything personal to her. As for my stuff? You destroyed the belt already, and the only other thing that looks like it used to be mine is that yellow shrug she has on."

"Okay, then the jacket seems to be our best bet." Ladybug stood up. "My turn. Lucky charm!" She threw her yo-yo directly up to activate her special power. As it hung in the air and spun, cherry blossoms spiraled out into the air above us. Ladybug pulled the yo-yo back to her, and the cherry blossoms condensed into a jumbled blob. With a bright white flash, the blob exploded, leaving the shape of a matchbook hanging in the air for a second before gravity caught it and dropped it into Ladybug's awaiting hands.

"A matchbook? Are you going to fire up the grill and make Mimicker a nice lunch?" I cocked an eyebrow in confusion as I stared at the red matchbook with black ladybug spots dotted across it.

"Give me a minute." Ladybug began scanning the area to try to piece together how to use the mysterious item. I never understood why her Lucky Charms always had to be so seemingly random, but Ladybug never failed to find a way to use them to take down the supervillain and save the day. I just needed trust that she'd do the same yet again.

"Here's hoping you just need the one minute, Bugaboo, because I'm running out of time." Another beep. Another minute down. Two more left, and I could hear Mimicker and her entourage of Chloés entering the food court.

It only kept a few seconds, but with so little time left, it felt like it was taking Ladybug forever to figure out what to do with the matches. Her head darted around, absorbing the full food court, and the kitchen behind us.

"Um, excuse me, Chat Noir?" Sabrina poked her head out from behind Chloé. The bespectacled redhead wasn't draped in nearly as much bravado as her best friend, instead hugging herself as she caught my attention.

"Don't worry," I reassured her, "we'll take down this supervillain and you two will be safe."

"Right, but I was just thinking about what Louise was wearing when we last saw her. I think the akuma might be in the sunglasses Chloé broke."

"Sabrina!" Chloé protested.

"You broke Louise's pair of sunglasses?" I kept my voice steady and non-threatening so Chloé would be honest.

"They were a horrible imitation. I couldn't stand to see them." Chloé voice was low and melancholy. She didn't say anything else. She didn't need to. I knew how much her mother's sunglasses meant to her. Seeing someone else wearing them must have hurt her worse than she cared to admit. Seeing a whole army of clones all wearing those sunglasses must have been quietly killing her.

"Got it." Ladybug, oblivious to my conversation with Chloé and Sabrina, ran into the kitchen and snatched two aprons from their hooks. "Chat Noir, fill that bucket with water." She pointed to the bucket she meant and then handed the aprons to the girls. "You two, use these as blankets and go hide in the cooler." Ladybug pointed to a large chrome door towards the back of the kitchen.

"The cooler? You've got to be kidding me. And you want _that_ to touch my outfit?" Chloé pointed to the apron Ladybug was offering. Sabrina had already grabbed hers, draped it around her shoulders, and tried to pull Chloé along with her.

"Chloé, please. It won't even be for five minutes, but I need you two hidden from Mimicker in the meantime." There was sincere concern in Ladybug's voice, and it convinced Chloé. She wrapped the apron around herself and let Ladybug close her inside the food stall's cooler.

I held up the freshly filled bucket. "Where do you need this?"

"Ladybug? Chat Noir?" Mimicker yelled for us as her Chloé Clones began checking each stall in the food court.

"Quick, over there." Ladybug grabbed a pair of tongs and pointed at a counter by the grill.

"You're not seriously making her a burger, are you?"

"Not exactly." Ladybug ripped a match out of the book, handed it to me, and pinched the rest of the still open matchbook between the tongs. "Here, light the rest of the matches, quick, and-"

"Ladybug!" About five of the Chloé Clones clamored over the counter and started heading for the kitchen we were in.

"And then keep them away from me as long as you can," Ladybug finished.

My ring beeped for the fourth time. The last of the finger pads disappeared.

"As long as I can seems to be about sixty seconds, M'lady. Here's hoping your plan is quick." I struck the match against my nail, lighting it. I then used it to light the rest of the matchbook. The whole thing burst into flame. Ladybug climbed onto the counter by the bucket, and then used the tongs to hold the fireball up to a smoke detector.

Smart. She wanted to trick the mall into thinking there was a fire in the food court. The bucket of water was probably to douse the flame once the alarm went off. I hoped whatever she wanted to come of that would work. I extended my baton into the length of a quarterstaff, and I started pushing the Chloé Clones back.

Ten seconds had already passed. Another five ticked by as I fought. Then another five by the time I knocked the clones out of the stall.

"Please, hurry, Ladybug," I muttered under my breath as I tried to keep the horde from her.

A loud buzzer sounded. The fire alarm! Overhead sprinklers kicked on to try to quench the non-existent flames while waiting for the fire department to show up. As the water rained down on the sea of Chloés they all began crying out and tried to find cover.

"Ug! My hair!"

"My outfit!"

"I'm wearing white!"

"This is dry clean only!"

"My makeup is going to run!"

They all scrambled, leaving Mimicker alone in the center of the food court, yelling for her minions to come back.

"Ready Chat Noir?" Ladybug landed beside me, her yo-yo already spinning at her side.

I looked down at my ring. The last pad was already blinking. How many seconds had gone by? How many did I have left?

"Sabrina thinks we should go for the visor. It looks like Chloé's sunglasses, and the Real Chloé broke Louise's pair."

"Visor it is. Alright, Kitty, let's do this quick before you transform back."

"Got it, LB."

With Mimicker now abandoned, it was much easier to flank her in our attack. The supervillain deflected us at first, but in no time at all, Ladybug had her yo-yo wrapped completely around Mimicker. I snatched the visor off her face and snapped it in half.

A black butterfly with glowing purple vein-like accents formed at the break in the visor. As it started to fly off my ring's warning beeps quickened to a frantic pace.

"Go, Chat. I've got this." Ladybug pulled her yo-yo back and caught it in her right hand.

As much as I wanted to stay and watch her work, she was right. I had about three seconds while my ring rapidly beeped. Then I'd be Adrien, like it or not.

I dove for the counter of another food stand just as the ring's beeping turned into a powered down boop. The last paw on my ring blinked off. The same yellow energy that created my costume now consumed it again. Starting at my feet, the sparks raced up to my head, returning my civilian clothes as it passed. The rush return to Adrien caused enough of a small breeze that my hair even fell back into place, parted over my left eye and swept to the side.

Plagg swirled out of my ring, expanded to his full size, and plopped onto my lap.

"Oh, my aching body. I'm so tired," he moaned.

Before I could respond, I heard Ladybug call out, "No more evil doing for you, little akuma."

I poked my head over the counter top and spotted Ladybug still trying to catch the parasitic butterfly. It was a simple task now. I wondered why she had waited, but perhaps she had paused to check that I was able to hide in time.

Making sure I was out of site, I watched as Ladybug ran her left index finger up the center of her yo-yo. A white light followed where she traced, drawing a line across the side of her weapon. The line glowed brighter, and the side of the yo-yo split into two ladybug wings. The wings opened up and folded behind the yo-yo, leaving an open, shimmering, white pocket.

"It's time to de-evilize!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the black butterfly as it tried to escape back to Hawk Moth. The instant her weapon scooped up the akuma the ladybug wings folded back around to capture the magical bug inside. Catching the yo-yo, Ladybug turned it back to the side she had magically opened before. She pressed the center black ladybug spot, and the wings opened up once more to release the akuma.

Out of the shimmering dimensional pocket hidden inside Ladybug's magical yo-yo, a white butterfly fluttered into the air. The akuma was purified to its original form, to the way the Moth Miraculous was supposed to be: a way to create superheroes; not the supervillains Hawk Moth manipulated by corrupting these magical beings.

"Bye bye, little butterfly," Ladybug waved the purified akuma off to wherever they go once she rescued everyone: Paris, the akumatized victims, and the corrupted akuma itself.

Finally, Ladybug held out the burnt remains of her matchbook Lucky Charm. She threw the matchbook high above her, activating the most powerful tool she had: Miraculous Restoration.

"Miraculous Ladybug," she called out.

This was always my favorite part of working with her, aside from just being with her, that is. Watching her Miraculous Restoration power was breathtaking, no matter how many times I saw it. As the matchbook reached the zenith of Ladybug's toss, a bright flash of pink light broke it down into a magical swarm of ladybugs, about a thousand bugs strong. The swarm branched off into an eight-pointed star. Each segment sped off in a different direction, all rushing to return Paris to how it was before the akuma attacked.

A batch of the ladybugs stayed in the food court, brushing past the sprinklers to turn them off. They then circled the large room in a thick fog of magic, drying every bit they touched. Finally, they breezed past each of the Chloé Clones still hiding from the sprinklers' rain. As a swarm flew past a victim they turned back to their normal bodies. Men, women, children, my fellow schoolmates, they each stood dazed as the magical ladybugs moved on with their task of repairing the mall and restoring everyone.

Meanwhile, a black cloud with purple accents bubbled around Mimicker. Like someone wiping the cloud clean, it dissolved, starting at her feet and ending at her head, returning Mimicker back to Louise in her Chloé outfit. The akumatized negative emotions she had felt were lifted off her as the cloud dissipated, and she collapsed from the relief. A heartbeat later she recovered and walked over to Ladybug, a bit dazed as to what she had done while brainwashed by the akuma.

"Are you alright?" Ladybug maternally asked the redhead as she handed Louise the Miraculous Restoration-repaired sunglasses.

"Yeah," she responded meekly. It reminded me a little of Marinette.

Marinette! Nino! Alya! I trusted that the Miraculous Ladybugs had returned them all to safety, but it still concerned me that I hadn't seen any of them in the mall, and none of them were in the food court crowd. I hoped that they did make it outside during the evacuation. I had to figure out a way to get to them and explain my absence so they wouldn't worry.

Ladybug ran to let Chloé and Sabrina out of the cooler, and ushered them to Louise. The girls had a brief exchange before Ladybug touched her earring. I knew that it must have beeped. It was nearly five minutes since she used her Lucky Charm, and she was about to transform back.

"Bug out." She waved to the trio of girls and ran over to the food stall I was hiding in. I ducked behind the counter and pressed myself as close to the shelves as possible so she wouldn't see me. She must have known that I had hidden there when I de-transformed, because as she ran past she whispered just loud enough for me to hear.

"Good job, Chat Noir. Pound it." There was a tap on the counter, and I knew she fist bumped it to make up for us not getting our tradition in. She then raced off to transform back to whomever she was under her mask.

I quickly fed Plagg to get his strength up again before I snuck out of the mall to try to find my friends.

* * *

 ****A/N: So, I know that it's sort of fanon that LB's greatest power is called the "Miraculous Cure" or "Ladybug Cure" but for me it makes more sense to call it the "restoration" since it's more a power that restores everything to pre-akuma than it is "curing" anything. Personal preference, it is what it is. On the Wiki it's just simply called "Miraculous Ladybug."**

 **Once more I'm vague as to whether or not this story takes place before, during, or after the second season. I do hint at the fact that Chloe helps with more than one akuma, which could mean Despair Bear and Zombiezou. It's up to you to decide if you want those episodes to be included before this story.**

 **Finally, how does everyone feel about my first ever OC akuma? Did you like Mimicker? Was the battle too long? Too short? Entertaining? Did it feel like something that could be an episode? I have one more for this story and at least two for the next one I'm working on, so I'd love some feedback on how I'm doing. Thank you again my beauties!**

 **Until next Friday!****


	6. Parallels

****A/N: You know how I said last week's chapter was the longest in the story? ... Yeaaah... This one is a very close second. Whoops. Hope you enjoy!****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 6: PARALLELS**

I couldn't understand what was wrong with me; why I was there yet again. Outside her window one more night.

After the akuma attack, I was able to meet up with Nino and the girls. When I found them, Marinette had her head hung as she talked with Alya and Nino. They were probably discussing how none of them found me, and I felt guilty that I had made them fret. I wasn't sure what other option I had, though, without abandoning Ladybug, and it was clear she urgently needed my help during this attack.

"Adrien!" Nino spotted me, cutting off Marinette as he ran up and pulled me into a bear hug. While I hugged him back, I looked past his shoulder at Marinette and Alya. Marinette jogged a couple of steps, but abruptly stopped, her hands folded against her chest as Alya placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. I had done that. I had made them all worry. I needed to find a way to make it up.

"I'm so glad you guys are all safe." I said to all three of them.

"Where were you?" Alya asked as she escorted Marinette over to us. "Marinette said you were helping people evacuate the theater. We ran around the whole crowd and we couldn't find either of you."

"Either of us?" I looked over at Marinette. She tensed up and started blushing, her folded hands now tucked straight down by her hips. She scrunched herself together to be as small and invisible as possible.

We all started exchanging tales of what happened after the Akuma Alert went off. Nino was able to catch up with Alya fairly quickly when she stopped to get some footage of Mimicker transforming mall patrons into Chloé. Alya was pretty determined to not become a Chloé Clone herself, despite her desire to get footage for her Ladyblog, so she allowed Nino to direct her outside. Marinette had a similar tale: she looked for Alya, saw the herd of Chloés, and jetted without further inspection; certain Ladybug would be able to make things better.

I understood that. Marinette is brave, and as protective of her friends as a mother bear, but it was no secret that she and Chloé hated each other. My first day of school, and my introduction to Marinette, started with Chloé trying to pull a cruel prank on her. While I wasn't sure what about Marinette bothered Chloé to the point of singling her out, I got why Marinette was slow to believe Chloé had a sweetness to her. If it were me, I don't know if I would have been able to handle an entire mall filled with my bully, no matter how much I stood up to them to defend myself or my friends. I probably would have shot out of there too.

When it was my turn to explain where I was, I briefly entertained the idea of stating that I got out late and was transformed. I didn't want to add to my friends' guilt, though, so I simply said that I was running around the outskirts of the mall trying to find them, and we must have just kept missing each other. It seemed a satisfactory enough reason as Alya pulled all of us into a group hug. My left arm wrapped around Nino again, and my right scooped Marinette close to me. Her hair still smelled a little of movie popcorn from when she spilled it on us. The scent now reminded me of Ladybug, and I wondered where my partner had disappeared to in the vastness of Paris.

The group hug was brief as Alya broke away to head home. Marinette begged her to stay with us and continue our hang-out, but Alya was determined to load the limited footage she did have onto her computer, and update the Ladyblog.

Alya placed both hands on Marinette's shoulders. "Girl, just stay here with the guys and watch the rest of the movie. You can tell me how great it was later." Her voice changed to emphasize each word of her last sentence.

"I-uh." Marinette glanced over her shoulder, shifted uncomfortably, and then turned back to Alya. "I'd rather you were there. It was your idea."

My heart sank a little that Marinette was still so uncomfortable around me, or Nino, or both, that she couldn't hang out with us without Alya there as a buffer. Would it really be so weird for her to just hang out with us guys? My hopes were all but snuffed out that I could get her to warm up to me enough to openly show me the carefree side of her she kept hidden in her bedroom.

With his girlfriend leaving anyway, Nino chimed in that we should all just call it a day. The magic of the movie was gone. He wouldn't really be as invested in it if he jumped back in after the long intermission. I offered to buy everyone tickets to a second showing, but it was agreed that it would be too late to start the movie over again, and still have time to get our homework done. I begrudgingly relented to us all just heading home.

The entire train ride back Alya talked about the footage she had, her theories on who the supervillain was, and how much she wished she could have video taped Ladybug in action. Marinette remained quiet, but softly smiled at her friend's excitement. I ended up doing the same. Alya and Nino went on and on about what they went through during the akuma attack, but I stayed silent. I simply smiled and nodded to show that I was paying attention. I wanted to add to the conversation, but I couldn't say anything without either lying to them or giving myself away as Chat Noir.

When we got to the station, Nino offered to escort Alya home. With the akuma purified there shouldn't have been any danger, but Alya gladly accepted the offer. We said our goodbyes and were about to part ways when I decided to take Nino's lead, and I offered to escort Marinette home. I hoped that it would allow us one last chance to talk. One last opportunity to get her to open up and become more comfortable with me.

She originally rejected the offer since she only lived a block away, but once I pointed out that her house was on the way to mine anyway, she agreed. We walked in time with each other, but Marinette kept some distance between us. She had her arms tucked behind her and only stole quick glances my way as we talked. She mostly focused straight ahead, and I wondered if she was silently praying to be home already so she could be rid of me.

"Crazy day, huh?" I felt lame asking the question, but I couldn't stand the silence.

"Uh huh," Marinette hummed.

"I had fun at the movies. It's a shame we didn't get to see the ending."

"Uh, yeah, it is." Her voice had a hint of melancholy to it.

"We'll have to figure another time to go to the movies again. When could you go?"

The question stopped Marinette cold. For the first time during our walk, she looked directly at me. Her face softened, the tension once caught in her jaw was gone. Her eyelids were heavy, as if she just woke up and was still trying to get her eyes to adjust.

"To the movies? With you?" she finally said in a soft tone. "I mean with everyone? I'm usually available whenever." She was back to being a bit frantic, flailing her arms all over, her voice louder and sharper. "Unless my parents get a big order or something and need me to help with the shop. Or if Mrs. Chamack needs me to babysit Manon. But I don't have to agree to babysit if we already had plans, and my parents wouldn't make me help out at the shop if I told them I'm going somewhere already. They're usually pretty good at letting me hang out with my friends. I- I'm rambling. Sorry." She shook her head and looked to the side.

"Um, okay, so I'll check in with Nino to see how his and Alya's schedules look. We'll probably have to wait for me, though. My father keeps me a bit overbooked sometimes."

"I'm sorry your father isn't more lenient with your socializing." She reached her hand out towards my shoulder, but abruptly pulled it back, instead resting it against her chest. "I wouldn't worry about it, though. We saw most of the movie, which was fun. If we can't all find a good time to watch the rest in theaters I'm sure we can figure something out once it's on DVD."

"Yeah. I guess that would work." I took a few more steps, but realized that we had already reached the bakery. I looked at the blue side door that lead to the Dupain-Cheng residence. I fought to keep my voice a bit chipper despite my disappointment that we didn't get to talk more before getting to her home.

"It seems that this is where I leave you." I don't know why, but I dramatically bowed as part of my farewell. _Stupid, Adrien,_ I chided myself, _Way to make things even weirder._

We both lingered for a moment, and I rocked on my heels. I wanted to ask her to walk with me into the park, and just sit and chat on a bench. If she felt weird about sitting quietly in a movie theater with me and Nino, though, she probably wouldn't be up to a friendly chat alone in the Place. I mentally waved the white flag. "It was nice hanging out, even for a little bit."

"Y-yeah! It was. Nice. With you. I mean everyone. Hanging out. It's a shame an akuma had to ruin it." Her mouth twitched to the side as she fought a frown.

"Yeah, but it's always cool to see Ladybug and Chat Noir save the day, right?"

"Right." There was no enthusiasm in Marinette's voice. She stared at the sidewalk as she opened the door to her apartment. She slid inside, but faced me once more. "I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow." Before I could reply, she clicked the door closed.

I wanted to shout back through the door, "We can still hang out without the love birds. I want to get to know you more. I want you to know me better. I want you to be comfortable with me finally. I'm tired of things being awkward."

I wanted to say it all, but my voice wouldn't work. My mouth wouldn't form the words. I knew it would just make her uncomfortable again, and she looked uneasy as it was.

Something about Ladybug and Chat Noir saving the day drained her. Why? Was it the reference to Chat Noir? Did she know I watched her every night? Was she disturbed by the thought of Chat Noir being praised a hero of Paris instead of the sick creeper she knew me to be? I suddenly had an urge to rip the door open, chase after her, grab her wrist and say, "If you just hung out with me without being nervous all the time, if you were just the carefree girl I saw in your room, then I could stop."

I couldn't though. It wouldn't be the "Adrien" thing to do. Besides, how could I blame her for my deviance? It wasn't her fault she was bashful outside the comfort of her room. It wasn't her fault that I discovered the secret version of her she hid up there. This was on me, not her.

I shoved my hands deep in my pockets as I walked home. Plagg tried to check up on me as I walked, but it's Plagg. He wasn't the most comforting as he pointed out how close I was to hanging out with "real Marinette" and encouraged me to just spy on her again that night.

Advice I easily followed despite myself.

Six. Six days now that I had betrayed Marinette's trust, and yet I couldn't find the power within myself to stop. She was an addiction now. That first night may have been an accidental taste, but after watching her draw the miraculous-themed sundress I couldn't resist my nightly call to her room.

I had learned so much about her. Prying on her comforted me, and she was amusing to watch. I was sick to my stomach that I was still doing this, but my heart raced with the thrill of doing something I shouldn't. I felt like a sleazeball, and I never felt more alive. It was exciting. It was relaxing. I needed to quit, yet I never wanted to go a night without checking in on her. The only distraction from my sin was working with Ladybug to defeat that day's akuma. Each day I was torn between wanting to spy on my friend and wanting some innocent citizen to be akumatized so my focus would instead be on helping my lady save Paris.

I was a mess. And I was back there on Marinette's roof again.

Nearly a week before, I had watched Marinette pour her soul into a design. Seeing her determination and passion pulled something inside me. Pulled it to her. As much as I had that mental itch drive me crazy that night, it did so all the faster the next day. I was sinking into a black hole, but I knew I couldn't fight it.

I climbed onto her roof that third night, and peeked in the western window facing the Place des Vosges. She was across the room, on her computer. The sound of loud metal clanging coupled with eerie music filled her room. I snuck to the small, circular, southern window that faced the Seine and slowly peeked in. Marinette was hooting, hollering, and yelling at her computer screen. A joypad was in her hand. I shifted my gaze to her monitor, and saw that she was pretty far into _Shields of Justice_ , probably around the mid-boss of the seventh level.

Even though she had showed me up in _Ultimate Mecha Strike III_ , I still couldn't picture Marinette as such a hardcore gamer. She really got into it, too. During the more precision-based parts of the game she hunched close to her screen. Then, while her character was casually walking through the dungeons or stopping in towns, she relaxed into her seat, and lounged with her legs straight out in front of her; crossed at the ankles. Whenever she had to button-mash, or she had to concentrate on a challenging task, her tongue slid out of the corner of her mouth, and the rest of her body tilted slightly in the same direction.

Watching her during the intense boss battles was my favorite part. She started off hunched close to the screen. Then her tongue peeked out of her mouth, and she started her subtle tilt. As the battle intensified, she jumped to her feet, kicking her chair out behind her. She yelled at the screen, hit the buttons as hard and fast as she could, and began waving her joypad around in the air, as if a different angle from the computer would make her attacks more effective. Her elbows would poke out to her side, and she'd tilt her head and upper body towards me, while her bent arms shifted to her left to help balance her out. She kept twisting and bending and tilting as she fought. Soon the controller was above her head, and she was wrapped around herself like a human pretzel. The sounds from the game were nearly drowned out by the rapid tap-tap-tap of Marinette's fingers against her joypad buttons.

Then, once the battle was over, she would sigh, call out a "Boo-yah!" as she pointed at the monitor, and kick her foot out behind her to find her chair. She'd hook one of the legs with her toe and roll it back into place. Finally, she'd sit back in her chair without ever taking her eyes off the monitor. How was this the same girl who trips over her own feet?

Marinette was so good at the game, that she quickly got past the part I had been stuck on for weeks. She displayed moves that I didn't know a character could do in the game, and she found secrets I never heard of. I just laid across her roof, hoping no one could see me perched there, and watched her play for three hours. While it started off as me snooping on Marinette herself, it quickly downgraded to me just watching her gameplay so I knew how to get further in the game myself.

Day four of my spying on Marinette, I didn't even pretend I was going to stay at home. As soon as I finished my homework and had dinner I transformed in order to creep back over to Marinette's. Being able to observe the "real" her was like a reward now, and I raced to get everything Adrien needed done so Chat Noir could get his treat.

I spotted her from the western window and instantly dove below it, afraid that she had caught me. She was lounged across her chaise, and she could have easily peered out her western window if she had just looked in that direction. She didn't move, though. Didn't call out. So I was pretty sure she hadn't spotted me.

I slinked around to her southern window again, and poked my head up. The window was about even with Marinette's head. It was the closest to her I had ever been as Chat Noir since I had started this prowling. My heart raced at the prospect that, if she ever dared to look out her window, we'd nearly be eye to eye. The only thing truly hiding me was the red paper umbrella she kept tucked by the arms of the chaise. It shielded her from the sun that would come through the window, but that night it also shielded me from her view. Even so, if she leaned forward a little in order to look out her window, there was no way she wouldn't see me. I knew I should move to a safer spot, or even head home, but I liked how close I was to her as I watched. The adrenaline rush kept me in place, and I snuggled against her circular window, just as I had the night before.

Marinette was so engrossed in her evening project that she never once looked up. She tag-teamed between a crocheting project she had draped over her lap, and scribbling things down on a notepad by her right hip. It was hard for me to see what she was writing down. The umbrella blocked much of my angle.

I studied her as she effortlessly crocheted a long, red scarf with black spots. It was the second night I caught her designing a piece of clothing that was Ladybug themed. She had also made Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls at one point, complete with a small rogue's gallery of akuma supervillain dolls to fight. Was she a Ladybug fan as well? How could she not? Everyone in Paris loved Ladybug. Everyone but Hawk Moth, that was. If she was a fan, then why didn't she gush over the superheroine like my other classmates? Why did she keep it hidden? She couldn't have been afraid of being ridiculed for her devotion, could she? Was she that shy and unsure of herself?

Marinette shifted the notepad she had been jotting things down on, and I could properly read some of it. Across the top of the page was a list of her friends with a different gift idea written next to each one. She was probably getting a jump on hand-making Christmas gifts for each of us to make sure they were all done in time. Next to Alya's name were the words _Ladybug Scarf._ I wondered if the Miraculous yin-yang dress was also something meant for Marinette's best friend. I had a twinge of disappointment when I realized that I might not see Marinette in that sundress. The disappointment deepened when I noticed my name on her list. Nothing was listed next to it aside from a penciled in question mark.

Trying to push out the guilt that Marinette knew so little about me that she couldn't figure out a gift, I watched her crochet instead. Every row or so she would pause her crocheting, jot down a few things on the notepad below the list of names, and then return for a few more rows. At first I thought she was marking her progress on a pattern. I stretched further into the window to get a better angle of the notepad, and prayed that wouldn't be the time Marinette decided to look to her left.

The notes she was jotting down had nothing to do with her current crocheting project. They were notes about setting up a meeting with Mr. Damocles to discuss different student issues, and updates to bring to student council meetings, and what color bench cushions she should make to have our classroom seats more comfortable.

I wasn't sure if she was working on Alya's scarf while figuring out how to keep up with her role as class representative, or if it were the other way around. Either way, it was fascinating to watch her mind work. The way she figured out the perfectly circular spots of varying sizes without a pattern, as well as knowing who to talk to in order to fix the concerns the students have, were both equally impressive.

I had spent four days watching Marinette, and I thought I had learned enough. However, I was proven wrong just the next day when I still couldn't sate my curiosity. For the fifth time in as many days, I went back to Marinette's home. That time, though - that time I was positive I was done spying.

I had once more returned to the scene of the crime. Before I even reached her home I could hear Jagged Stone blasting from her room. My body flushed with an almost burning heat and anticipation as I realized that I would finally get what I had been yearning for since that first accidental night. I'd see Marinette dance to Jagged Stone, and see if she looked how I had imagined that first night.

She was even goofier somehow, and it was amazing.

She acted as if her whole bedroom were the stage, and that she was the rock star. Starting in the center of her room, she sang the lyrics into an imaginary microphone. She climbed up the steps to her lofted bed, then jumped back off as she strummed an air guitar. Her fingers danced as she pretended to continue shredding on the guitar. She spun in neat circles before reaching her computer chair and kicking it out of the way, knocking it towards me.

I ducked below the window, skirted the roof, and tried the southern window. As I peeked in, she jumped onto her chaise lounge, head banged, and leapt back off. My heart pounded in my ears. I was certain she had noticed me that time, but she kept dancing like she was alone. Foregoing the air guitar, Marinette slid across the wooden floor on her knees, her back arched, and her head bent back as she belted the lyrics into an imaginary microphone again.

I continued to dart between her three windows to avoid being caught. She never once slowed down as she continued rocking to the whole album. She was full of aggressive energy. It was such a juxtaposition to how meek she normally was whenever I saw her. It was humorous to watch such an extreme opposite to her public self. Yet it seemed so fitting for her. She was just so cool that I believed this rocker could be the same Marinette I saw in class every day. I instantly understood why Jagged Stone searched for her specifically to design his latest album cover.

True, she was such an amazing artist that she probably could have won Jagged's favor on that alone, but it was more than that. Nathanael was also talented, perhaps even more so than Marinette in any art form outside of fashion design. Yet it was Marinette that the rock star had asked for by name. It wasn't just her art skills that caught Jagged Stone's eye. I was positive about that. As I watched her get so into his music it was evident that she truly _understood_ Jagged Stone. Who he was as a performer, and what his music meant.

That was why he wanted her to design his cover: because she understood him. Just as she seemed to understand Alya, and Nino, and all the other kids in our class, which made her such a great representative.

I recalled Marinette's list of friends and intended gifts from the previous night, and I remembered that question mark by my name. I no longer felt depressed about it. I knew better now. Marinette knew me as well as everyone else. I felt it whenever we managed our small conversations together. I wasn't some celebrity pretty-boy to fawn over. I was an average kid who liked going to the movies and to concerts, hanging out at the park, playing video games and basketball, and watching anime. I trusted that she knew all of that about me. In fact, I knew she did. I just wished I knew her the same way. I shouldn't have found something new about her every night that I spied on her. I should have already known more about her than the fact that she liked fashion and played video games. How was she always such a mystery to me?

I felt the most connected to her as I watched her dance around her room that night. She had no cares in that room; listening to that music. She let herself go as wild as she wished. It was like watching her get in touch with her own Chat Noir side. Watching her reckless abandon was like seeing the personification of how I felt whenever I had Plagg transform me. It was such a magical experience I could have sworn I saw a pink streak of light flitting around her. However, whenever I tried to focus in on it the pink light would disappear.

It was probably just a trick of the mind. My focus on my Chat Noir transformation creating a fictitious kwami for Marinette to have.

I headed home that night completely satisfied. I had done it. I had hit the jackpot. Ever since that first accidental night, I had wanted desperately to watch Marinette dance to Jagged Stone, and there it was. I could forever keep that thought; that memory of Marinette being as uninhibited as I am whenever I was Chat Noir. I was done. There would be no more mental itches.

Yet, there I was, just five hours after Alya orchestrated a hang-out with Marinette: a day where I could still be Adrien around her. I had talked to her. We were able to connect, even if it was only briefly. On top of that, I knew she had homework that she was probably still working on. There was no mystery. There would be no new reward.

So why was I yet again on her balcony, feeling like a cat burglar stealing what I wanted; stealing more of this Secret Marinette? There was nothing wrong with the Marinette I spent the day with, the one I always get to see day-in and day-out. I really like that Marinette. She's super cool and sweet and such a faithful friend. I would defend her until the day I die. However, knowing that she's actually so much more made me unsatisfied with just seeing Everyday Marinette.

I crept down to the eastern window and checked for her. I couldn't see her anywhere in her room. Part of me was grateful. She was probably downstairs with her parents. Maybe I could just leave this alone.

"Gaah, I can't get this!"

I dropped against the gutter (where I probably belonged) as I heard Marinette yell. There was the rattle of her computer chair spinning across her floorboards. I thought I heard the soft squeak of a second voice, but my own heart was pounding too loud for me to really focus on it. She probably had Alya on speaker. I shimmied along the roof and tried my favorite spot against her southern window.

"Okay." As I peered through the circular window Marinette gently smacked her cheeks, just rough enough to wake her up. She flexed an arm. "I can figure out this problem. I handle harder stuff all the time." She climbed out of her computer chair, pushed it back towards the part of her wraparound desk that lined the northern wall, and plopped back into it. She held her pencil out dramatically for a couple seconds, her whole body hunched over her textbook. "Ugh," she whined as she frantically scratched at her scalp with both hands, "I lied. There's nothing harder than algebra." She faceplanted into her homework.

Algebra was easy for me. I barely had to give it much thought, thanks to the advanced home schooling Father had set up for me in the past. My mind raced with ways I could slyly suggest becoming Marinette's tutor, and hoped they would have better results than my attempt to set up a meeting between her and my father.

"No." She was sitting back up again and smacked her cheeks some more. "No quitting. I can do this!" She struggled. She worked out the problem, checked the answer provided at the back of the book, grumbled about how her answer wasn't right, and tried again. I stayed put and silently cheered her on. I knew she'd figure it out eventually. She couldn't give up. She wouldn't give up. Not the Marinette I knew.

She picked up her textbook and began reading through the chapter as she walked around her room to help her concentrate. Her nose was buried in the book, but I still zipped from one window to the next to avoid her noticing my spying.

Fifteen minutes later she tried the problem again, and actually got the correct answer. She cheered and threw her scratch paper like confetti. Her tongue now sticking out like when she concentrated on her video game, she took on the next problem, and the next, and the next. She checked each answer. They were all correct. Her homework conquered, she slammed her textbook closed with a hoot.

"There you go, Marinette," I whispered from my hiding spot. I thought I heard an echo in a soft chirp, but I shook the possibility away. I couldn't have said it loud enough for an echo. I must have been hearing things. It was getting late.

Marinette grabbed a book off her desk and walked over to her chaise. She snuggled onto the pink lounge and flipped open the novel. The umbrella again blocked most of my view. The show was over. She would probably read until she was ready to go to bed.

I shifted to the western window so she wouldn't hear me push off her roof on my way home. Then she started humming.

It was a slow melody that started off with very similar notes before it raised a few tones and settled back down. Even without the plink of the guitar, the low hum of the base, the soft piano, or the subtle drum to accompany the notes, I knew exactly what she was humming. It was her favorite song. It was also the staple slow song that Nino kept on hand whenever he deejayed someone's party.

I could hear it clearly, and swayed softly to the warm notes Marinette hummed. It was a welcoming calm, and a peacefulness I don't recall having since my mom disappeared. I slid back to the southern window to better hear her, and then settled against the roof. The Paris skyline laid out before me, with the stain glass windows of Notre Dame catching the moonlight. I closed my eyes, and just listened to Marinette hum her favorite song as she read.

The calm was meditative at first, but soon it allowed my mind to wander. It brought me to the fact that I was lounged across Marinette's roof while still dressed as a supposed superhero. It was such a horrendous misuse of my powers: becoming Chat Noir in order to spy on a classmate simply because she's too bashful to show her full self to the world. We're teens, none of us show our true selves to the world. I probably am the worst case of that. I have to be so refined and reserved in order to please Father that as Adrien I could never do anything I could as Chat Noir. Case and point: my spying on my friend.

I guess that was part of my mask; part of the reason why no one had figured me out yet. No one could wrap their mind around the fact that this flirty, playful, pun-loving, bold, cat-themed superhero saving Paris was the same kid as the surprisingly humble, soft spoken, Adrien Agreste.

If I could have a secret life – more so than most teens – then why couldn't I leave Marinette hers? Why couldn't Bedroom Marinette just stay private?

It was because I now knew that the Marinette I kept spying on was the real version of her. I wanted to know more about my friend, and this was the real friend I needed to learn about. Marinette wasn't meek, unsure, reserved, indecisive, or completely clumsy the way I had always seen her. The way she always presented herself. Sure, those were parts of her, for whatever reason, but she was more than them. She was bold, determined, concise, energetic, and surprisingly graceful when she thought no one was paying attention. I mean, yes, she was still a bit clumsy, but she tended to recover in some of the most amazingly athletic ways I could witness. Her reflexes were near superhuman.

In every aspect, she was a different person when she felt she could just be her; without an audience. At least, an audience that she knew of. It was so enchanting to discover that. So reassuring.

Marinette was like me. She might not have known what she was doing. She might not have even been doing so intentionally. She might have thought that the Marinette she showed the world was truly her, but it wasn't. She was hiding her true self within the fortress of her bedroom.

The girl who danced around with reckless abandon to a true rock legend; the girl who stayed up past midnight in order to get a design out of her head before she lost it; the girl who hunkered down until she mastered a tough homework problem or solved a classmate's concern; the girl who tripped over her own discarded shoe, but recovered by hopping on one foot until she could plop onto her chaise; _that_ girl was Marinette.

I was the same – hiding who I really was from my friends – but I at least knew what I was doing and why. I wanted to help Marinette so bad. I wanted her to feel confident enough to always dance like no one was watching, even in public. I wanted her to be nimble because she no longer believed herself to be a klutz. I wanted her to command attention and respect. I wanted everyone to see her the way I now did.

I wanted to let her know that I saw who she really was. I wanted to gently shake her, and tell her that she is so much more than what she thought.

I had no clue how to bring that up, though. The only way to let her know that I saw the real her was to confess to spying on her. The only way to explain that – if she would still listen to me after finding out that I'm a stalker – would be to confess that I was Chat Noir. Could I really do that? How would that conversation even go? If I couldn't even let Ladybug know who I was, how could I tell Marinette?

Still, even though I knew I couldn't say anything without having to tell her everything, I yearned to shake her from her shell. I finally understood why Nathanael once had a crush on her, and maybe still did. Nino's sudden fascination with her made sense, even if he did just as abruptly discover he actually liked Alya. In fact, I had faith that Marinette had even more admirers that no one knew about.

From our very first interaction, I had known that Marinette was sturdy and brave when push came to shove. When it came to protecting her family, friends, or her designs – all things she took great pride in – she oozed conviction that the timid girl normally wouldn't showcase. I saw the full brunt of it whenever she butted heads with Chloé.

I also knew that Marinette was witty and creative. It was easy to see whenever she tried to handle Chloé's bullying entitlement or Kim's masculine bravado. It was there when she crafted her derby hat, complete with a masterfully hidden designer's signature. I then saw it on a higher level when I witnessed her designing in her room, and figuring out how to best handle problems as the class representative.

It was obvious that she was caring, and happy to be a cheerleader for her friends. All of these qualities were the reasons I considered her such a close friend, even when we barely interacted. Those qualities were why I called out her name whenever I saw her; happy to steal even a couple moments with the brightness she always seemed to spread. They were all qualities that could easily make someone fall for her the way Nathanael and Nino did.

That was Normal Marinette, though. This new version of Marinette that I discovered, the one she believed was hidden away from prying eyes, that girl could win over virtually anyone who interacted with her. Chloé would no longer have any pull over our classmates if this secret Marinette ever showed up at school.

My chest grew tight as I realized I wanted that. I wanted so badly for this Marinette to come out of hiding. She had all the best parts of the Marinette we knew, but she was also so much more. There was an extra factor about her.

Something that was very much like Ladybug. This secret Marinette had confidence, strategy, charisma, and determination that could have rivaled my lady's. She had the makings of a true superhero, and I would have been proud to work alongside her.

I got a flash memory of Marinette interacting with my Chat Noir persona when we were trying to take down the Evillustrator. She seemed star-struck enough when I first greeted her, but she had no problem quickly turning the tables and being the calm, focused one during the actual attack. She did what needed to be done, as if she had done it hundreds of times before. She wasn't afraid to be around an akumatized villain. She kept her head, and found a crafty way of getting the pen Evillustrator's akuma was hiding in. When Evillustrator took the pen back, and locked us in a box on a quickly sinking boat, she was the one who figured out how to escape.

She didn't panic. She was firm and vigilant. Not many citizens would be so level headed, let alone a teenager. She even pushed me away as I tried a bit too hard to be a heroic knight carrying her to safety; keeping me focused on the task at hand instead of the idea of saving a damsel in distress. She was amazing. It was such a Ladybug-type move, too. Why didn't I notice that before? Why did it take me so long to see the similarity between the two? Was I really that fixated on my attempts to be impressive in the eyes of a civilian? The eyes of one of my classmates? The eyes of Marinette?

I saw it clearly now, though. The new half of Marinette's personality that I was able to see over the past five days - the confidence, the brilliance, the determination, the strategy, and the drive - they were all just like Ladybug. The thought made me smile, and filled me with pride for some reason; realizing how similar Marinette was to my partner. I couldn't lock down where the sense of pride bubbled from, but it was there. It let me know that, even with all of Chloé's bullying, Marinette would be fine and could hold her own. It added to my faith that Marinette would become the famous fashion designer she hoped she'd become; that I knew she'd become. Perhaps the pride was simply in knowing that I had chosen such an awe-inspiring person to be friends with. That one of the best decisions in my life was to listen to Nino when he told me to explain to Marinette that the gum on her chair was simply a misunderstanding: that I wanted no part in Chloé's prank, and that I was trying to take the gum off, not put it on. Perhaps it was pride in knowing that I had made the right choice in trying to make her my friend, instead of resigning to the fact that she hated me.

Wherever that pride came from, it warmed me out on that roof, but a small part of me still dripped with melancholy. While I couldn't be as free around Marinette as I could be with Ladybug, mostly because I couldn't allow myself to be Chat outside the mask, I did feel like I could be more relaxed around my classmate. I was comfortable to be more "me" around her. However, upon remembering the awkwardness from our hang-out earlier that day, and how bumbling she always seemed to be around me, it became painfully obvious that she wasn't as comfortable.

There was a wall that I couldn't get through, and being outside her window, having a literal wall keeping us apart, was agonizing. If only I could get Marinette comfortable around me. If only I could make her feel as at ease with me as I felt with her. If only this Hidden Marinette was allowed to see the light of day. If only I could give her a mask so she felt as safe to be her true self as I did whenever I was Chat Noir.

If only, then maybe I could stop my sick hobby of creeping on her. And more people could see what I did: Marinette was one of the most amazing girls I had ever met; second only to my Ladybug.

* * *

 ****A/N: Sorry, I know there wasn't a lot of dialog in this chapter. It's hard to figure out lengthy "flashbacks" and "montage scenes" in prose. I hope I did it fairly well.**

 **Also, if only our little cinnamon roll knew what was really going on with Marinette, right? He'd know that he has to add at least Theo and Luka to the list of Mari admirers.**

 **Speaking of, while this story will always remain vaguely "after season one" but never officially placed anywhere within season 2, I have to say that I was inspired by the Adrienette dance in Despair Bear for Mari's humming scene. I'll leave it up to you guys to decide if this story takes place after that episode, and therefore Adrien has his own connection to that song. ;) ****


	7. Confusion

****A/N: Hitting the half-way point. Who's excited?****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 7: CONFUSION**

"Adrikins, are you even listening?" Chloé demanded.

"The jeweler told you that your new custom brooch wasn't ready yet, even though you had already given him three days since placing the order. You wondered how he could blame the post for the delay," I replied in a bored monotone.

"Oh, I should have known better," she clung to my arm and nuzzled my shoulder, "of course you'd be listening to me. I mean, I _am_ such a fascinating storyteller. How could I have doubted that you were hanging onto my every word?" She gave a harsh chuckle through her slightly groveled voice. She then fluffed the end of her blonde ponytail before flicking it behind herself.

"Yup," I replied in the same monotone as before; leaning away from her grip on my arm.

Chloé was one of my oldest friends, and, especially after meeting Louise the day before, I tried to have faith that she was still the sweet girl I knew from when we were little. However, I couldn't ignore how vapid and entitled she had become with age, and she was definitely not as much fun to hang out with. Not like Nino. Or like Marinette.

I certainly didn't have the romantic feelings for Chloé that she had clearly grown for me, but I couldn't find a good way to let her down gently. Besides, how was I supposed to let her know that my heart was only for a superhero that saved Paris on the daily basis?

As I stood trapped on Chloé's arm, I noticed Alya and Marinette walking up to the school. Spotting my opportunity, I slid my arm away from Chloé's grip. A bit bashfully, I held up my hands to stay her.

"Sorry, I don't mean to cut you off, but I actually have to talk to Marinette before school starts."

"Pfft. Marinette?" Chloé huffed and looked to her right with disgust. She then tried to grab my hand in order to garner my attention again. "What could you possibly need to talk to _her_ about? Just stay here with me, Adrikins, I'm far more entertaining than Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She snarled the poor girl's name like it left a foul taste as it slid off her tongue.

I dodged Chloé's grab for my hand and skirted around her. I wanted to tell Chloé off, just like Marinette does whenever she defends herself and our classmates. I wasn't as brave as Marinette, though, so instead I just quietly boiled under the surface as I plastered a smile on my face and walked backwards in my hasty retreat.

"Oof!" I felt a light bump in my back that made me jump. Then I heard Alya softly chuckle just past my shoulder. Whipping around, I noticed poor Marinette rubbing the side of her head. She must have smacked it on my shoulder blade when we ran into each other.

"Sorry, Marinette," I rubbed the back of my neck as I tried not to blush. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"The way you were moving to get away from Chloé, I'm surprised we didn't see one of those little cartoon, dust cloud, silhouettes left behind," Alya joked.

"Oh, that?" I thumbed behind me to where Chloé and I were talking at the foot of the school stairs. "Yeah, well, that was actually because I wanted to make sure I had time to talk to Marinette before class started."

"Me?" Marinette blinked wildly as she pointed to herself. "You wanted to talk to me?" She ping-ponged her head between Alya and me; trying to find confirmation and reassurance.

"Sure." I tried to calm Marinette with a gentle smile, but she was her normal nervous self around me. "I wanted to let you know that I talked to my father about your designs. Well, actually, I couldn't really get any decent time with my father to ask him, but I did ask Nathalie to talk to him about it. She remembers the hat you entered into Father's contest, and she agreed to talk to him about taking some time to look over your book."

"Wow!" Alya elbowed Marinette, who looked positively stunned.

"Gabriel Agreste – _the_ Gabriel Agreste – is going to look at _my_ designs? For real? I- When you said you wanted to do that for me I didn't think you meant so soon. You really think my drawings are ready for your father to see?" Marinette looked at me with the largest eyes I have ever seen in the world. A lump formed in the back of my throat as my heart jumped. How had I never noticed before that Marinette had eyes as blue as the Seine?

"Of course," I broke my gaze upon Marinette. I couldn't handle the realization that Marinette had blue eyes, just like Ladybug. True, I couldn't say they were the same lovely, shining bluebell color, but it was still another parallel, and it threw me off balance for a moment.

Once I was re-centered, I again casually looked upon my classmate and friend. Leaning in slightly, I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What I mean is, I told you I thought you were talented, and that I'd try to help you succeed in fashion. Why delay, right? I know you're ready now."

Alya looked like she was about to burst. Maybe I should have done this a bit more privately, but I knew Marinette would have told her best friend the second she saw her anyway.

"W-wow. Th-thank you. You're wonderful. I mean, that's wonderful. I mean, what you are trying to do for me is wonderful." Marinette's voice got tighter with each rambled sentence. "Er, I mean, thank you. I said that already, didn't I?" She shrank in embarrassment but still gave me her large, goofy grin.

I laughed. "No problem, Marinette. Why don't you put a portfolio together? I could pick it up in a day or two. I'm sure Nathalie will have something figured out by then. Will that be enough time?"

"Time? Uh." She looked helplessly at Alya, who chuckled and wrapped an arm around Marinette's shoulders.

"Don't worry, girl," Alya bubbled. "I'll help you put it together. It will look amazing."

"Great! Just let me know, and I'll pick it up." I gave Marinette a wink and a finger-gun solute before heading to class.

At the base of the stairs leading to our classroom, I felt a hand tug at my wrist. Alya pulled me behind the steps so we wouldn't be noticed.

"Adrien," she spoke in hushed tones, "it really is wonderful what you're trying to do for Marinette. I don't know why she doesn't have more confidence in her designs, but if your father tells her she has talent I know she'll believe that!" She pulled me into a quick hug before just as abruptly holding me out at arm's length. "Just, like, your father isn't going to _crush_ her dreams, is he? Nino says he can be pretty harsh."

"Not a chance." I patted Alya's shoulder and glanced past the steps. Marinette was still slowly walking towards them, more focused on her drawing notepad than where she was walking. Thankfully, the other students were used to her infamous clumsiness by now, and parted around her to avoid tripping her up. "Marinette is super talented, and my father has already noted that. I know he'll love her drawings. How could he not love something she's designed?"

Alya's eyes darted between me and the incoming Marinette. She drew out the word "right" as a smile subtly grew. She gave me another quick hug before jogging over to Marinette, and safely escorting her best friend up the stairs to our classroom.

Alya's concern made me second guess my offer. I didn't want Father to see Marinette's portfolio if he was going to deter her from a career in fashion. He wasn't exactly the most nurturing person. Then I remembered what he said about her hat: "You definitely have the laboring hands of a hat maker." If he was that impressed with her derby hat, he had to see her skill in all branches of fashion. If he didn't, I'd have to show him; convince him.

One way or another, I knew that Father would see what I did: that Marinette was amazing.

* * *

"Adrien!"

I bolted up in my chair. I didn't even realize Nino was trying to talk to me until he started waving his hand in front of my face.

"Huh?" I dumbly replied.

"Whoa, dude, I called your name, like, five times. You okay?" Nino placed another two books on the stack we already had piled up on the library table. I felt a twinge of guilt that we were supposed to be working on our history project, and I couldn't remember adding a single one of those books to our research collection.

"Yeah, sorry. What were you saying?"

Nino looked past his left shoulder before turning back to me. "Nevermind that, now I want to know what is so fascinating over by Marinette?"

"Marinette?" I blinked a few times, trying to remember where my mind was just a couple of seconds ago.

"Yeah," Nino thumbed a few bookshelves over.

Marinette was running her hands across the book bindings as she searched for the tome she needed.

With her back turned towards me, an oddity jumped out. Marinette typically wore a white t-shirt with a pink and black floral pattern along the upper right side. Over the shirt, she had a grey three-quarter-sleeve jacket with a white collar and cuffs decorated with pink polka dots. Even her skinny jeans and slip-on shoes were pink. Pink. Pink. Pink. Her lunchbox. Both of her bookbags. Her purse. Her sketchpad. Everything was pink with black and white accents. Everything I've ever seen her in followed that same color scheme. But there, in that library, with her back to me, I saw the red hair ties pinning her ebony locks into pigtails.

Red. Not pink. Why not pink, or black, or white? Why red? Red, like the long, thin ribbons Ladybug always tied her pigtails back in. Had Marinette always used red hair ties? Or did she start doing that to celebrate Ladybug?

"You were pretty laser focused on that part of the library for a good five minutes," Nino continued, oblivious to my newest bout of confusion.

 _Five minutes? Really?_ Forget red hair ties, this was a whole new problem for my mind to chew on. How did I lose five whole minutes? What _was_ so fascinating in that direction? Why was I even looking over there instead of focusing on our project?

I watched Marinette grab the book she was looking for, brace its weight against her chest, pin it in place with crossed arms, and walk back to the table she was sharing with Alya.

Marinette? Was I watching Marinette? Was I trying to steal glances at her even during school? Was I trying to study her outside of her room, but still away from my unnerving influence? Was I now spying on Marinette outside of the protection of being Chat Noir? I hadn't noticed. My body was acting on its own.

"Oh, wow. Sorry. I haven't been sleeping well, and I must have just zoned out." I quickly muttered, my face growing hot. "Should we get back to the project?" I got up and walked to the other side of the table, my back now to Marinette to quench a temptation I never realized existed. My face felt sunburnt, and I desperately wanted to transform, if for no other reason than to have my mask hide the pink pooling on my cheeks.

Nino smirked. "Dude, zoned out? Really? Looked to me like you were straight up staring." His smirk vanished as he leaned in and whispered. "What's going on? Really? I mean, the train yesterday and now this?"

I dropped my gaze to my notebook and started drawing a spiral in the margin. I slid as far down my chair as I could, lost in how I could have gone so far over the line.

"Nothing. It's just a mistake," I whispered back, "One I need to stop making."

* * *

I had to stop. The moment I realized that I was creepily watching Marinette, even when in my civilian form, I knew I needed to stop. I already knew my voyeurism of Marinette was becoming an addiction, but now it was one I had no control over. I trapped myself in my room. I battled through the withdrawal as I tossed and turned throughout the night. The mental itch returned. I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I played out scenarios of things that Marinette could be doing, and wondered if any of them were true. I did the same tricks I did that second night. I watched TV, I read books, I played video games, I checked up on the Ladyblog, but Paris kept calling to me. The Tom & Sabine Bakery was calling me. Marinette was calling me. Still, I stayed firm. I kept to my room. I dealt with the twitches and the rampant mind.

By three a.m. I still hadn't passed out for even a minute. I was going to be a zombie in class the next day. I prayed Father hadn't set up a last-minute photo shoot, because I would look like a raccoon. I stretched out on my bed, trying to beckon sleep to me. It wasn't working. My mattress wasn't soft enough. My blankets not warm enough. My pillow was too lumpy. Nothing was able to turn off my mind.

"Why can't I sleep without first seeing her?" I asked Plagg after poking him awake.

"How should I know? Humans are weird," was his helpful, half-asleep reply.

"It's just Marinette. I don't have the same need to go watch Nino or Alya. Why Marinette?"

"Eh, don't worry about it. You know what you need to help you sleep? Some warm milk and a couple of wheels of Camembert. Lulls you straight out. You can't think about anything else if you're thinking about warm, gooey, yummy Camembert."

"Ug! I'm not hungry, Plagg, especially for some stinky cheese." I pushed myself out of bed for about the tenth time, and wandered my room, trying to find anything to distract me that I hadn't already tried.

The craving to go back to Marinette's room was consuming. I tried to remind myself that anything interesting she would have done was long over at such a late hour. She was probably asleep. There was no way she'd be up after three, even to draw another design. I wouldn't learn anything new about her. I would just hit an elevated level of creepy: watching her sleep.

Plagg studied me for a minute or two as I paced, before he cocked an eyebrow at me. "If you like this girl so much, just ask her out on a date already."

I froze. The thought hit me hard, like I was slammed into a wall, and ever since I became Chat Noir I had expert knowledge of what that felt like. Was that it? Did I want to date Marinette?

"No!" I shouted back at Plagg, "No, I love Ladybug. I can't like Marinette. Not like that. She's just a friend. A really good friend. That's all."

"Really?" Plagg smirked and floated over to my Foosball table; sitting on one of the figure's heads.

I couldn't believe Plagg had to ask. He should know better. I professed my love for Ladybug daily, sometimes so frequently that he complained about being stuck with a love-sick teenager. There was no doubt in my mind. I knew I loved Ladybug.

Then I thought about hanging out alone with Marinette in her room when we were training for the gaming tournament, and relaxing in the park together. I remembered carrying her in my arms as Chat Noir when I helped her to safety during multiple different akuma attacks. I pictured her goofy, broad smile as she held up the cloth banner she made for Alix and Kim's race, and when she won my father's hat design competition. I recalled how my heart reached out to her when she feared her reserved and honor-bound great-uncle disliked her. I got a flash of her shyness but determination when we had to act out the kissing scene for Nino and Alya's horror movie, and how my heart raced, but my breathing calmed, as I pulled her in.

My chest tightened and I coughed down heartburn. I shook my head hard, trying to scatter those images of Marinette. How could I think of anyone but my Ladybug in a romantic light?

Ladybug was my one and only. She was the one who made my heart try to break free of my ribs whenever I saw her. She was the one who made me feel all warm and goofy inside. She was the one who made my skin tingle whenever she was close, and make my body nearly melt whenever we touched; never wanting the sensation to end. She was the one who made my heart ache, while also making me believe I could fly. Every word was encouraging, even when it was scolding my advances and pet names for her.

The first day we met, Ladybug was nervous about being a superhero, but she forgot that fear the moment she had to protect someone. Instead, she was quick witted and kind. The second time I saw her she was again unsure of herself, ready to quit, but the moment Paris was threatened she regained her fearlessness. She gave an encouraging speech as if the words came naturally to her, and she quickly captured Hawk Moth's akumas like she had been Ladybug for decades. She was steadfast and firm in her determination to protect our city.

The way she knew how to defeat Stoneheart with love instead of force. How she didn't hesitate before leaping off the Eiffel Tower to catch Mylené. The fact that she managed to direct me to save a falling Ivan, while she dove to scoop Mylené out of the air, and still managed to capture the escaping akuma as we lowered everyone safely to the ground. Everything Ladybug did that day was breathtaking. It was that very day that I knew I loved her.

I also knew my draw to her wasn't just me being awe-struck by a fellow superhero. As I worked more and more with her I became entranced by how she's so confident all the time, but also willing to admit that her confidence sometimes makes her screw up. Even when it's evident that she could probably protect Paris by herself, she always tells everyone that we're a team; equals. She values my input. She's kind. She's smart. She's playful, even when she reprimands me for not taking the situation seriously. She's constantly thinking of others. She's down-to-earth, and never lets the power she has go to her head.

There were a million reasons why I knew I loved Ladybug. However, as I started mentally counting them, I slowly forgot if I was describing my superhero partner, or Marinette. My classmate and friend also had moments where she was filled with confidence. She could be equally steadfast as she held her ground against Chloé. Up against an akuma villain, Marinette was just as fast thinking and brave, as if the situation she found herself in was everyday for her. There were very few problems she couldn't find solutions to, and she became hyper-focused whenever a task was important to her. Most importantly, she cared and fought for the happiness of others first and foremost.

"Marinette reminds me of Ladybug so much." Although I had deduced as much the night before, it was the first time I had verbalized it.

Marinette's blue eyes returned to me. They were so large, and deep, and grateful, and pleading. They burrowed their way into my mind. I again wondered how I had never noticed her eye color before. Raven hair and blue eyes weren't an average combination. How was it that until that morning I would have told anyone that Marinette had grey eyes? Had I paid such little attention? How did I know so little about someone I considered a close friend?

Marinette had blue eyes, just like Ladybug. She also kept her pigtails tied back in red bands. I still couldn't figure out if that was an homage to Ladybug's red hair ribbons, or if she had worn them all along. Either way, it was another connection to Ladybug. There were beginning to be so many.

I tried to shake the thought out of my head. I couldn't handle the conclusion I kept falling into: Marinette and Ladybug were two sides of the same coin. It contradicted the Marinette I had known for nearly a year. Then again, everything I saw the past week already tore down what I thought I knew about the black-haired girl. Yet it also seemed to confirm it. It was confusing. I felt like I didn't know Marinette at all, but that I also knew her from the second she accused me of putting gum on her chair.

As I tried to sort things out, my focus landed on my computer screens. They still had Alya's Ladyblog up. The entire right side of the site's homepage was covered by a familiar shape: Ladybug's silhouette with a large question mark where her face should be. My muddled mind became clear and more clouded at the same time.

"Plagg, am I projecting? Do I want Marinette to have the same traits as Ladybug? Is that it? I do love Ladybug, but I can't be with her. Meanwhile, I know exactly where Marinette is, and I can see her whenever I want. Do I only think Marinette is a lot like Ladybug because I want her to be? Am I aching to see Marinette so badly because I really want to see Ladybug? Is Marinette just some living proxy?"

I thought back to Théo's Ladybug and Chat Noir statue at the Place des Vosges, and how I would go there and stare at the statue whenever I wanted to see Ladybug. I hadn't stopped at that statue all week. Had my mind replaced it with something made of flesh and blood? Was I still doing the same thing? Pretending so I could believe I could be with Ladybug?

I began to hyperventilate.

"Whoa, Adrien, calm down. You're thinking too much into this." Plagg flew over to my shoulder, but I hardly noticed his presence.

I plopped onto my couch, suddenly dizzy. How could I have let things get this far? I thought I was finally seeing the real Marinette, but was I really just projecting elements of Ladybug onto Marinette so I could have a surrogate? How was that fair to either of them? I felt like I betrayed them both. I betrayed my feelings for Ladybug by trying to find someone more easily accessible to replace her with; showcasing the parts I loved the most about her in some other woman so I wouldn't feel ashamed about giving up on my partner. I had betrayed Marinette as well. Not only by spying on her every day the past week, but also by pretending I finally saw her. I didn't see her at all. I saw an illusion I projected onto her. What kind of friend was I?

I felt like I needed to confess, but I wasn't sure how to do it. I knew I had to be Chat Noir when I professed my wrongdoings. There was no way I could explain Regular Adrien being able to spy on her the way I had been. I just wasn't sure how I could reveal such a sordid thing while I was Chat Noir. Admitting to Marinette what I had been doing was probably going to ruin her view of one of the Guardians of Paris. Worse yet, I feared that she would think that Ladybug would be capable of doing the same thing. The citizens needed to feel safe from Hawk Moth, and I was going to be destroying that by letting Marinette know that I was far from a guardian after all.

In the end, though, while she would probably hate the superhero half of me – the true half of me – at least she still wouldn't know that the Black Cat of Paris was Adrien. I still had a chance of her not hating that half of me. I could at least pretend that I could face her at school. It would hurt, but it was possible. I wouldn't have to lose her as a friend.

Ladybug was a whole other story. How could she trust me as her partner in defending Paris if she knew? If I told her that I was so lovesick over her that I started using my powers to creep on some girl who reminded me of her? She'd realize how desperate I am to find her, and what sick depths I'd go to do so. She'd probably force me to relinquish my Miraculous until I grew up some more.

I didn't know what I'd do if I couldn't be Chat Noir. If I had to lose Plagg. If I couldn't be out there helping to protect my lady.

 _My_ lady. I couldn't call her that. I probably never should have started. I was far from a noble knight, and she clearly was far from "mine." I stumbled back to my desk and pulled out the Valentine I had hidden there. I opened up the heart-shaped card made out of pink construction paper and traced my fingers over the curves of each printed letter.

"Together for eternity, my heart belongs to you." I sighed as I read the last two lines of the poem. I once believed it was written by Ladybug. The card was unsigned. It answered a love poem to Ladybug that I had thrown out. A literal ladybug landed on the card right about where the signature would normally be. It had to have been Ladybug, right? Yet she kept pushing me away. She kept rebuffing me. She refused to have any sort of romantic involvement with me, and refused to let us know who the other was. How could her heart always belong to me? Even if the poem was written by her, she probably wouldn't feel the same way after she knew how replaceable she actually was to me.

"Adrien?" Plagg again tried to get my attention, but I continued to ignore him as I put the poem back in its hiding spot.

I was screwed. I was going to lose so much. I deserved to after everything I did, but I wasn't ready to give it all up. To give up Chat Noir. To give up Plagg. To give up my freedom. To give up the people of Paris looking at me as a hero. To give up Marinette being at ease around me. To give up my time with Ladybug; helping to keep her safe so she could save Paris.

"Adrien, I was just joking around. You don't have to get all mopey about it."

I scooped Plagg up in a hug against my cheek.

"I don't want to lose you." I nuzzled him, surprised at how much he really did mean to me, considering how annoying he could be.

He patted my cheek. "You're not gonna lose me. What's going on in that head of yours? I was just teasing about the Marinette thing."

"I screwed up majorly, Plagg. I may not be able to be Chat Noir anymore."

He zipped out of my hands and stared me down. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't do anything rash. You didn't do anything that bad. So you spent the week spying on a classmate, who cares? You didn't do any harm. Paris needs Chat Noir. Ladybug needs Chat Noir. Everything will be fine."

"I'm no hero, Plagg." I crawled back into bed and buried my head under my pillows. I knew I needed to make amends about everything. I also knew I needed to start with Marinette. I'd have to figure out how to apologize to Ladybug afterwards.

With any luck, I could remain Chat Noir after Ladybug knew my transgressions.

It's a shame black cats tend to not have good luck.

* * *

 ****A/N: Sorry about the line breaks. FFN stopped letting me just use** **asterisks to create breaks anymore...**

 **While I don't want to officially place Peeping Tomcat anywhere in the 2nd season, I do want to say that I'm ignoring both "Dark Owl" in its entirety, and the fact that both Marinette and Ladybug told Chat Noir that she likes someone in the "Glaciator" episode. These are the only real "AU" elements of this story. So... no... Plagg doesn't know who LB is when he's teasing about Adrien dating Mari.**

 **Also, Adrien needs to cut himself some slack. Does anyone really memorize their friends' eye colors? If it's not brown I probably don't know it (and brown is simply playing the odds).****


	8. Guilt

**CHAPTER 8: GUILT**

I was acutely aware of Nathalie entering my room. I had heard her knock on my door, and call out my name. I was awake the whole time. I hadn't slept at all the night before. As Nathalie walked over to my bed, calling out to me yet again, I groaned my response.

"Adrien, are you feeling alright?" Her voice was tight and professional, as always, but it had that undertone of concern that even my own father couldn't manage most days.

"Can I just stay home today?" I pulled the blanket tight over my head.

"You want to stay home?"

I never wanted to be home. Ever. I had begged Father to let me go to public schooling instead of sticking with my home teachings. I softly whined to Nathalie whenever Father scheduled a photo shoot during normal school hours, because I so desperately wanted to be in the classroom with my friends. I was constantly asking Father and Nathalie to let me outside, to just enjoy Paris, if nothing else.

Nathalie knew all of this, and that twinge of concern was easier to pick up than the earlier one. She tugged gently at the blankets. I let her pull them free, and then place the back of her hand on my forehead.

"No fever, but you do look a bit under the weather." She straightened her suit and her normal, loose, red-streaked bang as she tried to re-establish herself as stoic. She easily pulled it off, except her knitted eyebrows betrayed her worry.

"I'll be fine. I'm just not feeling well. I kind of want to try to get some more sleep if I can." Any sleep would be more than none, so I wasn't exactly lying to her. I gave her the most pathetic puppy-eyes I could muster.

"I think that might be best. I'll contact your school and let them know you'll be absent. I'll also readjust your schedule for the rest of the week to make up for today." Her focus dashed all over, and I could tell she was mentally shifting things around already.

"Thank you, Nathalie." I rolled back over and pulled the covers up against my cheek. I assumed the sheer fact that I asked to stay home was enough to convince Nathalie that something was wrong, but I must have also looked terrible from all my insomnious tossing and turning. I'm sure that helped solidify her decision.

"Feel better, Adrien," she softly replied before bowing out of my room; gently closing the door behind her.

In truth, as tired as I was, I probably could have still forced myself to go to school and pay enough attention to not fall behind in my studies. I just couldn't bear to see Marinette. Not until I properly confessed to her. I couldn't pretend that everything was alright between us. That would come later, after she hated Chat Noir.

It kept playing in my head: how I had to confess, how creeped out she'd be with me spying on her for a week, how she'd hate me and no longer trust me as a Guardian of Paris. I saw it all every time I started to drift off to sleep, keeping me awake even when exhaustion washed over me. I had been awake for over twenty-four hours, but all night, continuing into the morning, I just kept visualizing that inevitable conversation with one of my closest friends. Kept seeing the anger in her eyes and disgust on her face. I couldn't handle that look. I had felt the sting of her dislike for Chloé, and I was just on the outskirts of it. I didn't know how I could carry the burden of that full hatred aimed at me.

Even if she didn't know that I was Chat Noir, I still feared that Adrien would lose her as a friend. She was smart and quick. She probably would still figure out something was up with me. She could still end up hating my civilian half. I feared going back to how we were that first day of school. I dreaded hearing her huffing disgust whenever I was near, or refusing to look at me, let alone listen to me. Marinette meant too much to me, I didn't know what I'd do if any of that happened.

How could I go through my days never once looking behind me in class to have a quick chat? How could I see her in public and not call out to her? How could I be at a party and not stand close to her? How could I see how brilliant or talented she was and not compliment her?

I debated maybe never telling her what I did. I had spent the night fighting through the withdrawal process. The itch was gone. On top of that, I felt sick with shame in betraying her on so many levels, let alone the betrayal to Ladybug. I doubted I would ever attempt to spy on Marinette again. That vile chapter of my life lasted a week too long, but it was closed and done. What harm would it be if Marinette never found out any of it? Could I live with this just being a secret between me and Plagg? Chat Noir could still be a beloved superhero, and Adrien wouldn't have to ever worry about losing a friend.

The relief I felt at the thought of burying the secret barely lasted milliseconds. As I sprawled across my bed, my sheets felt like metal. My mattress felt like it was filled with gravel slowly grinding against my skin. I felt itchy and dirty and restless.

An hour passed with me tossing about. A second hour, and my blankets were wrapped around me like a straight jacket. I was suffocating in my sheet cocoon. I knew I wasn't going to catch up on sleep, so I wrestled with my blanket, heaving it off. I took a shower. It was so long the hot water ran out, and I still felt filthy.

I knew I couldn't avoid admitting my guilt to Marinette, but I dreaded the conversation more and more with each passing minute.

The morning ticked away at painful intervals. Finally, it was time for lunch. I turned Nathalie away. My stomach was so uneasy that the thought of food bubbled some acid into my throat. As she closed the door I glanced over at the clock. Marinette was most likely home for lunch. I paced a little, trying to psych myself up for what I was about to do. I had no doubt that her parents had the bakery closed so the family could have lunch together. My father wouldn't bother, but Marinette's parents actually cared. There probably wasn't going to be a way to get Marinette alone, and I had no clue how I could explain to the Dupain-Chengs that Chat Noir needed to talk to their daughter.

I was better off waiting.

I couldn't wait any longer to talk to her, though. The guilt was overwhelming. I stared out my window, vaguely in the direction of her family's bakery. My heart pulled in that direction. She deserved to know, and I wouldn't get any rest until she did.

I had Plagg transform me, and I hopped through my window. Landing on the thick, concrete fence Father had around our home, I breathed in the air of Paris and tried to steel my nerves.

"Hey! You!"

I dropped to my stomach, but I think my heart stayed where it was. Did someone see me? How could I explain a random superhero perched on the two-story-tall fence around the Agreste estate?

"Wait up! I'm talking to you, sir!"

 _Sir?_ I crawled to the edge of the fence and saw a man running down the street, waving a plastic bottle over his head. He looked like he was a university student, probably in his later years of study. He had on a hunter-green t-shirt at least one size too big for his slender frame. His jeans were drastically faded and had small tears throughout them that didn't look like they were placed by a designer. The jeans were probably just well worn.

He chased after a well-groomed man in a suit who was probably rushing to get back to work after his lunch break. The businessman expertly ignored the university student chasing him down, but the younger man didn't give up. The most impressive thing was that the student was wearing sandals that looked like they were going to snap and fall off at any moment. It didn't slow the student down, though. He ignored the added challenge and pressed on in his pursuit.

That determination within adversity, and laser focus on a goal. It reminded me of Marinette a split second before my mind transitioned to Ladybug.

"Sir! Hold on a moment!" The student caught up as the businessman reached the northern corner of the street across from my bedroom. The suited man visibly sighed before turning to his pursuer.

"What on earth do you want?" The businessman snapped, before glancing behind him to watch traffic.

"Your bottle." The student held out the disposable drink bottle he had been waving.

"It's empty. Why would I want that?"

"To dispose of." The student looked at the older man like it was a silly question to ask him.

"I already threw the thing out." The man waved the student off and again checked traffic.

"Right, but you threw it away in a normal trash can. Since the city has yet to put up public recycling receptacles, I thought you might want to bring it with you back to the office, in order to dispose of it properly. Every little bit helps when it comes to keeping our environment clean." The student gave the older man a kind and encouraging smile that very much reminded me of Marinette. My throat burned as I tried to swallow around the lump that gathered behind my Adam's apple.

"I'm not carrying filth around with me! If you care that much then _you_ can find a recycling bin. Might keep you busy so you can leave us hard-working citizens alone." The traffic finally clear, the businessman quickly crossed the street, heading back to the business district.

"Stop destroying the earth for future generations!" The student hollered after the businessman, but his adversary had already disappeared around another corner. Defeated, the university student turned and went back the way he came. He tapped the bottle against his thigh as he grumbled about the callousness of the businessman. As he again approached the part of the fence I was hiding on top of, he paused. Gently, but firmly, smacking his cheek, he perked back up, as if the smacks shooed his bad attitude away. That definitely reminded me of Marinette.

My stomach churned as I remembered how I was able to witness her doing the same action to re-center herself. I needed to go apologize to her before it got any later. This guy needed to leave so I could get off the fence without someone spotting me.

Now renewed and seemingly no longer upset about the businessman's plastic bottle, the university student walked with a purpose, and a plucky bounce in his step. He rounded the corner, and headed out of view. The coast finally clear, I scurried over to the southern corner of my father's estate. I crouched low, and readied to pounce up onto the neighboring roof, when I heard a heavy sigh.

 _Why is there so much walking traffic around my father's home at this time of day?_ I lamented, certain that I was going to get caught one of these times. Frozen, my eyes darted for the source of the sound.

Below me, _right_ below me, Alya walked by with her arm wrapped around Marinette's shoulders. She pulled the girl close, so Marinette's head rested a little on her best friend's shoulder. Marinette had her arms crossed in front of her, pressing a brown paper bag close to her chest as the two of them walked towards the Place des Vosges. Nino jogged a little to catch up and bring up the rear.

"Marinette?" I whispered as I watched the trio pass. She looked so defeated. My guilt rushed to the back of my mind as concern swept in to take its place. What had happened? Was she alright? What could have upset her so much?

I leapt against one of the terraced houses that lined the Place, and landed within the top branches of one of the trees my friends would have to pass on their way back to school.

I heard Nino's scratchy voice first.

"So lame! I still don't get why his old man just won't let the dude have any friends over. I get that Adrien's sick and all, but come on. It might'ave done him a world of good." Nino pulled the brim of his red baseball cap down on his forehead, and then shoved his hands deep into his pockets.

Never before was I more grateful for my father's strict rules and Nathalie's adhesion to them. I would have been sunk if she had ushered my friends up to my room, or at least came to fetch me to greet them, only to find my room vacant. Besides, I wasn't sure I would have been able to spend the rest of their lunch break with Marinette. Not yet. Not as Adrien.

"At least we could share the soup, that way it won't go to waste."

"Nino!" Alya scolded over her shoulder as she pulled Marinette in closer. To her best friend, the redhead added, "Don't listen to him. The soup will keep. You could give it to Adrien tomorrow. I'm sure it will really help him recover. I mean, colds don't just go away in twenty-four hours."

"No, that's alright." I had to strain to hear Marinette's weak rebuttal to our friends. "That woman's right. Adrien has the best chefs in all of Paris to cook for him – er, minus your mom, that is – what does he need my soup for?" Marinette held out the bag she had been clutching against her the whole walk. "Here you go, Nino. Someone should enjoy it."

Her voice cracked, and I could tell she was fighting back tears. My chest tightened when I realized it was my fault. She was worried about me because of my lie to get out of class, and then she was rejected when she tried to check in on me. I didn't deserve her sympathy, and because of it she was hurting.

In a flash, I scanned the area, praying I wouldn't see one of Hawk Moth's akumas. Marinette being this upset was the kind of negative emotions he loved to manipulate, and I couldn't bear to see her become a supervillain.

 _Please,_ I silently pleaded, _just this once, leave one of my friends alone._

The echo of a slap brought my attention back down to my friends. Alya stood with her arm still in the follow through from smacking Nino's hand away from the package Marinette was offering. "Boy, don't you dare touch that bag!" She softened as she turned back to Marinette and lowered both of them onto a bench; holding her friend's arms in her hands. "Marinette, you have to be more confident, girl! The soup is fantastic. It's named after _you_ after all. And you learned it from your great-uncle! I'd love to see Adrien's chefs try to top that. Trust me, he'll love it. He just wasn't hungry today, that's all. The soup _will_ keep until tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Marinette softly replied. Then she repeated herself with a new sense of enthusiasm; bouncing back off the bench. "Yeah! Adrien seemed to really like the soup when Uncle Cheng made it. I- I don't know if I got the recipe exactly right, but it should be close. I made sure to pay really close attention to what my great-uncle taught me."

"That's the spirit, Marinette," Alya laughed.

"Okay. Tomorrow I'll give him the soup to take home for lunch, and if he's still not in school then I'll try his house again." Marinette puffed out her chest and stood firm.

My claws dug deep into the bark of the tree to try to keep me from dropping down, snatching the soup from her, and gushing about how sweet it was for her to make it for me. Or about how happy I was that she recovered before an akuma could be sent to her.

"Alright, so no touching the soup," interjected Nino, "but lunch is nearly over and _we_ still haven't had anything. I'm starving." He feigned fainting along the bench Alya was still sitting on; resting his head on her lap.

The girls giggled, and my heart jumped. There it was again: Marinette's giggle. I was attuned to it now. It had become one of my favorite sounds. A week ago I couldn't have described it to anyone, but now it rang in my ears long after she stopped. The guilt floated back to the surface of my consciousness. That giggle was what got me in trouble in the first place.

Marinette helped Nino off of Alya, and then ushered them over to the bakery to grab some pastries for lunch. I watched them walk away, silently pleading for them to not go. I missed them. I wanted to tell Nathalie that I was better and could go to class. I wanted to fist-bump Nino as he told me how glad he was that I recovered. I wanted Alya to make a snide comment with not-so-subtle undertones of her caring. I wanted Marinette to cheerfully greet me as I took my seat, and then hand me that soup.

She had made me soup. She had made me her great-uncle's famous Marinette Soup. She had done that for me; thought of me enough to take the time during her lunch period to make it. Nino said he was starving, so he and Alya probably helped, but I knew Marinette well enough by now to realize it was probably her idea. She always had such great ideas to try to make people feel better.

I mindlessly headed home knowing that I had soup waiting for me tomorrow; knowing how much my friends cared.

"Chat Noir! Hey, Chat Noir, over here!"

I almost didn't register that someone was calling out to me. I dropped down to the ground in front of a small pop-up kiosk just outside the Place des Vosges. The university student from before waved me over.

"Wow! It's you. It's actually you." He brushed his mop of brunette hair out of his eyes as I approached. "Um, hi, I'm Michel." He extended a hand with such gusto I thought his arm would shoot out of its socket.

"Hey, Michel. Nice to meet you. Anything you need help with?" I shook his hand before standing in my default Superhero Pose: feet shoulder-width apart and fists confidently on my hips.

"Wow." He drew out the word and smiled wider. "Uh, yeah! I'm trying to petition Mayor Bourgeois to start placing recycling receptacles in public locations beside the trash cans. I'm also hoping to get a motion going to plant more trees, and maybe start a few community gardens. Would you sign? I'm sure the mayor would start to listen to me if I had a superhero's signature backing me!"

"Gladly," I gave him a friendly wink and signed the petition, trying my hardest to adjust my handwriting so it didn't look like all the signatures I've done as Adrien. "Good luck. Those all sound like great ideas."

Giving me a large, toothy grin, Michel quickly scooped up a small pin-back button from his table and held it out for me. "Here, have one of our organization's pins as a thank you for signing."

I examined the gift, taking care to make sure Michel realized I appreciated the gesture. The pin had a white backing with a stylized tree on it in the same shade of green as Michel's shirt. Printed across the top and bottom of the pin, circling around the tree, was the phrase: Treat Mother Earth Like You Would Your Own Mother.

"I do hope I can get the mayor to listen," Michel said.

I unzipped one of the pockets of my costume and tucked the pin inside it. "Keep at it." I told him, "He'll listen eventually."

"Chat Noir? You wouldn't happen to know where Ladybug is, would you? Having both of your signatures should just about guarantee the mayor will take me seriously."

Abruptly, I turned from him and extended my baton. "No. Sorry. I can't help you with that one." I then used my baton to vault myself back onto the rooftops.

I knew he meant no harm by the question, but his asking about Ladybug stung. Maybe if I did know where Ladybug was I wouldn't have been so fixated on Marinette. I looked over towards her parents' bakery, knowing she, Nino, and Alya were probably on their way back to class by now. I had missed my opportunity to confess to her. I had to wait until after school now, which gave me a dangerous amount of time to ponder new questions that grew in my head.

Questions like: was it truly because of Ladybug that I was obsessed with Marinette? Was it because I was projecting, like I thought throughout the night?

My heart had swelled at the mention of her making me soup to make me feel better. Then I was more than simply worried at the thought of Marinette becoming evilized, I had actually been afraid. I felt compelled to comfort Marinette when I saw how sad I had made her, and it wasn't to try to avoid her becoming a supervillain. I sincerely hurt as I watched her choke down tears, and I wanted to ease that pain for her. I also felt light and calmed at the sound of her giggling at Nino. Those were all her. None of it was about Ladybug.

I was relieved, but also back to being torn. I really couldn't love someone besides Ladybug, could I?

Once home, I called Nathalie to my room, and asked for soup for my belated lunch. I was craving Marinette Soup, but settled for the chicken noodle Nathalie brought me. Knowing that I would have the the one my friends made in less than twenty-four hours ended up satisfying me.

After Nathalie took the dishes back and left, I crawled into bed, finally ready to get some sleep. I knew I still had to confess to Marinette, but I didn't feel as restless about it anymore. For whatever reason, knowing that Marinette, Nino, and Alya had spent their lunch hour trying to make me feel better comforted me, and lulled me to sleep. For the time being, the guilt over everything I had done to Marinette seemed to wash away.

Then it came back tenfold.

* * *

 ****A/N: By Jove, I think the kid is finally starting to get what we all knew when it came to his true feelings for Marinette... He is a dense one, isn't he?****


	9. Terravenger

****A/N: I almost thought I wasn't going to make it! I was literally writing/editing this chapter right up until 8:15 this morning! 0_0****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 9: TERRAVENGER**

When I awoke to something tickling my cheek I wasn't expecting it to be a leaf. I also wasn't expecting my two-story bedroom to look like an elaborate treehouse.

Thick vines of ivy swallowed up the walls, and webbed across the bottom of my lofted second floor. One of the vines from the netting above my bed had drooped, reaching my cheek and startling me awake. It kept me a minute to adjust to the darkness in my room without the aid of my Chat Noir night vision. As I slid out of bed I noticed my clock read 5:43pm. It was way too early for it to be so black with my wall of windows.

Except, I no longer had a wall of windows. Thick tree branches the same width as my sofa had broken through every last one. The tips of the branches pressed against my bedroom ceiling, threatening to rip it off the house. The vines snaked into my bedroom from the branches. Everything slithered and creaked like it was still rapidly growing. My room was going to be blocked off with a dense, bark wall soon.

"Plagg?"

"Over here." He called out to me from the mini-fridge I kept his Camembert in. He grunted and whimpered as he fought against the vines sealing the fridge closed. "Help!"

"No time, Plagg. Claws out!"

He tried to hold onto the refrigerator door; resisting the pull into the ring. He didn't even last a second before the Miraculous sucked him towards it.

"But I have to save my Camembert!" he whined as he disappeared inside my ring, activating it.

"We're saving it by stopping the villain," I rebutted. I then quickly went through my transformation routine, although I found none of the joy I normally did whenever I became Chat Noir. It kept only fifteen seconds or so to become the superhero, but the entire time I dreaded what being Chat Noir meant: seeing Ladybug.

I leapt through my window, onto a branch that had expanded to the thickness of a small car, and then off again before it fused with the above branch. My bedroom was now sealed shut from the world, and my father's mansion became encased as the trunk of one of the world's largest trees.

Climbing up to the top of the branches carpeting the roof, I saw that my entire neighborhood looked the same way. It resembled those post-apocalyptic movies I've seen where nature takes back long-abandoned cities like Hollywood or New York or London. Each building was covered in the bark of the quickly growing trees. Vines as thick as fire hoses draped across the streets and strangled the bridges. Paris was no longer the City of Lights, or covered with industrial chrome. Paris was a dense forest of browns and greens.

I heard a repetitive beep, like a ringing, coming off my baton. Grabbing it off my back, I pressed the neon green cat paw as it flashed, careful to only hit the left-most pad to activate the video call feature that connected me to Ladybug.

The baton split in half down the length of the stick, and the back half slid up to reveal a screen about five centimeters by seven. Ladybug's face filled the screen as her video recording played. She looked frantic and a little out of breath as she filmed herself running from something that exploded in the background.

"Chat Noir, please hurry. When you get this, meet me at the Place des Vosges."

The video cut out. Then another one started. She had a strained look on her face as her free hand tugged at something.

"Where are you? I could really use your help. The villain seems to be sticking pretty close to this park. Hurry."

As the video ended I saw her struggling to break someone out of a cocoon made up of ivy. A fallen police cap rested on the ground beside them.

In her third video, Ladybug was running again, and had the camera far enough ahead of her that I could see a green figure dashing around giant tree trunks in the background. The figure was shooting something that Ladybug kept dodging.

"Chat, I hope you're alright." Her face was filled with worry as she stopped to slide under an arched root. "Please, meet me at the Place des Vosges as soon as you can."

The messages ended.

I closed my baton and scanned over towards the park. It definitely looked like the heart of this new urban forest. It was a tightly knitted emerald of tree canopy. There was a thick moat of vines in the streets, and the buildings around the park – like Chloé's father's hotel – looked like my father's mansion: encased in bark as trees clamshelled around them.

How could I have slept through this? How did I not know that Paris was in danger? That Ladybug was in danger? That-

I really took in the terrace houses that lined the park. They were a thick barricade, and I assumed the inside looked as overrun as my bedroom. Marinette's parents' bakery and apartment was one of those homes. Marinette could be in danger. She could be in one of those plant cocoons like the officer in Ladybug's video.

I coughed as my chest tightened to the point where it hurt to breathe. I had to get to Ladybug. I had to help her. I had to save her from this akumatized supervillain. I had to make sure the akuma was purified so Marinette was safe. Nino and Alya could be in trouble too. I'm sure Chloé was freaking out in the hotel. That didn't matter. Marinette was right in the thick of it. Literally.

I extended my baton to be about the same height as me, and then I leapt off the canopy coating my father's house. I spun my baton above my head, acting as a propeller to help slow my descent as I drifted over to the terrace houses. I scurried up the branches, over the canopy, and shimmied my way back down and into the den of this supervillain.

I knew I should find Ladybug. I knew I should at least call her to let her know that I was finally in the park, and ready to fight. Yet part of me wanted to first race through the dense trees and make sure Marinette and her parents were fine.

I hated that part of me.

Yes, she was a friend, and one probably in the most danger. Yes, it is only natural that I wanted to make sure she was safe. However, it was more than that. My heart ached as I pictured her hurt by this villain. I grew scared and angry, almost as much as when Ladybug jumped into Animan's mouth while he was in his T-Rex form. I still wasn't sure if I was simply projecting my feelings for Ladybug onto Marinette, or if I was actually growing a crush on my classmate. Either way, my concern for her made me want to rush to her instead of Ladybug.

Instead of rushing to my partner. Instead of rushing to the woman I had claimed to be in love with since practically day one. Instead of making sure _she_ was alright. Instead of helping her cleanse the akuma. It was bad enough that my feelings for Ladybug apparently weren't as strong as I once thought, but now I was ready to abandon her to check on Marinette instead.

What was wrong with me?

I forced myself to focus. I couldn't think of Marinette. It was too much right now. I had to concentrate on the akuma. Finding Ladybug, and the supervillain, and ending this attack; that was my priority. I pressed the button to turn my baton into a phone again, and tried giving Ladybug a call.

"There you are!" Her voice had no malice behind it; just pure relief when she picked up.

"I'm in the Place des Vosges," I quickly replied as I moved my way through the forest; keeping my eyes and ears open for any signs of Ladybug or the supervillain. "This place is too thick, though. Any hints on where you are? I should still be somewhere by the northern edge."

"I'm closer to the Seine, I think."

"I'll be right there."

"Be careful of the plant people."

"The what?" I blinked at the screen, unsure I heard her right, but she had already converted her communicator back into her yo-yo. She probably needed it for a weapon or shield. I hoped these 'plant people' she talked about weren't brainwashed citizens working as the villain's minions. That had already happened enough times: Pharaoh's mummies, Dark Blade's knights, and Stoneheart's rock men army, to name a few.

I climbed back into the canopy. I figured it was easier to race through the branches than it would be to climb over the thick roots of the trees that overtook the park. I managed to get to the other side of the park in time to spot Ladybug escape to the front of the school, heading away from the Place des Vosges. I fought to keep my eyes from twitching to the left: to Marinette's rooftop balcony.

 _Can't think about her,_ I berated myself, _Now focus!_

I jumped towards the entrance of the school, and raced to Ladybug's side. I skidded to a stop in time to bat something out of the air before it could hit her. A knot of root tendrils uncurled on the ground in front of me.

"There you are, Kitty!" Ladybug chirped. "You had me worried there."

My heart lurched when she called me by my nickname. It didn't sound right anymore. It was once a beautiful sound. One that projected hope that maybe I was more to her than just her partner in saving Paris. Hope that we could one day be together. I didn't deserve that hope. Not when my heart could turn from her so easily. Yet, I felt I still loved her. I still wanted her. I still thought she was amazing.

Why couldn't I forget Marinette? Why couldn't I admit that I hadn't loved Ladybug all along? Why couldn't I just choose?

Ladybug pressed close to me, her yo-yo spinning frantically in front of her as she knocked the next volley of projectiles from the sky. They became more knots of roots as they smacked off her string, and uncurled as they hit the ground.

"Chat Noir? You alright?" She kept her yo-yo shield up as she looked up at me with concern. I wanted to sink into the ground like the roots.

"Yeah. Sorry I'm late."

Her lips pursed and her eyebrows knitted. Her bluebell eyes were wide with worry, and they reminded me of Marinette's sapphire ones. I had to look away. I knew Ladybug knew something was up. I always had some sort of pun or quip at the ready for when I joined her late in an akuma battle. My simple and dazed greeting was unbelievably out of character, but I couldn't muster my normal Chat Noir playfulness.

"You al-"

I grabbed her waist and whipped her behind me as a strange creature went to grab her. Plant people. That's what she meant. Weird little semi-human looking dolls about a meter tall, with no head and made of roots woven together into a body with two arms and two legs. It was once one of the knots of roots, but another projectile hit it, and it grew into the sentient plant doll. I scanned the other roots to make sure they hadn't become these plant people. They haven't, but the alternative wasn't much better. The roots already took hold of the street; pulling pavement up so they could embed in the ground. The road was nearly split in two as the roots twined together.

"Quick, this way." Ladybug grabbed me around the waist and threw her yo-yo to a utility pole off the roof of the school. In a shot we landed three stories up, and she released me.

"What are we dealing with?" I shuffled away from Ladybug, giving her a larger berth.

She studied me for a moment, as if she were trying to figure out if I was truly me or some pod person. She then noticed something past my shoulder and pointed.

"Him."

I turned to see a man clad in hunter green with thorns draped around him as accents. They stretched down the outside of his arms, like spikes on the jacket of a 1980s punk rocker. They also lined the outside of his legs from his hips to his knees. Vines wrapped around his waist like a belt, and large orange flower petals created a high collar. His skin was brown and textured like bark. Thick fern fronds spiked out of the top of his head like hair, and his hairline was covered in moss. It wrapped around his skull like a headband keeping his fern-hair out of his face.

"Ladybug!" The villain called out for her as he searched the ground in front of the school. "Where did you run off to? Hawk Moth wants your Miraculous, and I plan on delivering." The weird plant person pulled on one of the villain's thigh spikes to get his attention. It then pointed to the roof of the school.

"We need to go." Ladybug ran along the roof and threw her yo-yo. It hooked a taller building, and she swung in a long arch away from the school. While I followed her retreat, I didn't keep up. I barely saw where she went. I knew she wanted the space to regroup, but I had to make sure Stickface saw us. I had to lure him away from the Place des Vosges. Away from Marinette and her family.

It kept me too long to meet up at the Eiffel Tower, and the villain was on my tail.

"What is going on with you?" Ladybug greeted me with a sharpness to her voice, but there were traces of nervousness. It hurt to know that she cared about both me and why I was acting strange, and yet I couldn't tell her anything.

"We needed to lead him away from the park."

"No, actually. The forest was pretty contained in that area. Now he's going to infect the rest of Paris." Ladybug leaned over the banister as she kept watch for the supervillain. He was closing in quickly, and the greenery followed like a cape flapping behind him.

"Sorry. I guess I was just trying to keep him away from innocents." My voice came out with more bite than I had intended.

"Well, the trees seem to keep growing regardless, so we need to figure out how to stop him quickly."

The ground rumbled, and thick bushes flooded the legs of the Tower; dashing up towards us. Like a surfer on a wave, the villain balanced on the front-most bush and rode its climb up the Tower. As he ascended he fired more projectiles at us.

He wasn't using a gun. Instead, there were attachments on the top of his hands, and they connected to a large canister on his back via tubes running down his arms. The projectiles were too small for me to figure out what they were until some landed on the banister Ladybug and I were leaning over. Upon impact they opened up into knots of roots, just like the ones Ladybug had deflected with her yo-yo.

"He's shooting us with seeds?"

"He has two of them." Ladybug already evacuated the banister and looked for an exit. She pulled me into the elevator, shut the gate, but didn't bother pressing a floor button. "The main one he shoots are those rooting seeds. They plant themselves upon impact. The second one somehow turns plants into those moving dolls."

"And why are we in the elevator but not moving?"

"He's too quick. I can't get close to him to figure out where the akuma is hiding. This might be the best chance we have."

"Like being in a shark cage?"

"Exactly."

The villain stepped off the growing bushes and onto the level of the Eiffel Tower we were on. He patiently sauntered over to us, and I was finally able to see the emblem he had printed on the front of his supersuit: a stylized tree in an offsetting green. It looked familiar to me.

"Of course!" I snapped and unzipped one of my pockets. Still tucked inside was the pin the environmentalist student gave me. I held it out for Ladybug to see. "I think I know who he is. This university student named... Marco? Michael? Michel! That's it! He had me sign a petition to start some really cool environmental changes for the city." Ladybug took the pin from my hand and examined it. I then watched Michel as he got closer. Almost to myself, I added, "What upset him so much? He was fine when I last saw him."

Ladybug glanced around like she was scanning to figure out a Lucky Charm. I wasn't sure if her deductive MacGyvering would work with a standard item, but I tried to buy her time.

"Michel! What's going on? What happened to peacefully petitioning?"

The villain snarled and held his arms out straight; aiming his shooters at us.

"The name is Terravenger now. What happened is that no one cares about the environment anymore. So it was time for Mother Nature to take over again. The age of humans is done, and so are you two once I have your Miraculouses."

"Not much incentive to give them up," Ladybug called over to Terravenger. Normally that would be my line, but I wasn't feeling any quips, comebacks, or superhero banter that night. I was glad Ladybug was able to pick up my slack.

"I'll get them for Hawk Moth one way or another." He fired from the hand-top shooters, and a line of seeds hit the Tower; instantly spouting into choking roots that reached out for the scaffolding. Terravenger tapped something on his left shoulder, right about where a lapel would be, and fired again. Larger seeds shot out, hit the roots, and they grew upwards instead of out. They wrapped together to form the plant people dolls that attacked us before.

The minions shuffled closer to the elevator and reached out for us like tiny veggie zombies. Their arms grew vine-like fingers that tried to ensnare us. Ladybug and I pressed close in the center to stay out of their reach.

My chest tightened as I felt Ladybug against my back. I needed out. I needed away. I needed to not be around her until I had everything sorted.

"Thoughts?" I whispered over my shoulder.

"Not yet. Give me a minute." She shuffled to her right, causing me to do the same so our backs could stay in contact. She stared at Terravenger to try to figure it out. Meanwhile, the plant people began climbing up the sides of the elevator.

I needed to give Ladybug more time, and make sure those plant beings didn't mess with the elevator cable. I whipped around Ladybug and threw the elevator door open before she could stop me. I kicked some of the plant creatures out of my way before slamming the elevator door back closed and ripping the 'door open' button off the panel. I hoped it would get fixed when the Miraculous Ladybugs repaired Paris.

"Chat! What are you doing?" She pounded on the window pane of the door.

"Figure out what we need to do. I'm going to keep these guys at bay." I began pulling the plant creatures off the elevator, kicking them away from me, and swinging punches whenever I had an open shot.

Terravenger hit his left shoulder again, and began firing the rooting seeds. At first it was easy to keep the seeds from planting onto the elevator. The trickiest part was finding enough time in between shots to also smack the plant people off Ladybug's haven. Then, about mid-swing, one of the plant people wrapped my baton up in its vine-like fingers, ripping my weapon from my hands. Now disarmed, I was forced to defend Ladybug with a series of kicks, punches, and generally pulling the plants off the elevator.

It worked for a little while. I dodged some of the attacks, and held the plant dolls up as shields for a few others; wrapping them in the explosion of roots. I tried to lure the plant people and Terravenger away from my partner, but I couldn't run through the tangled bramble that began to grow around me. Soon I was hit by some of the seeds, and the roots tied my legs together.

I stumbled to the floor and tried to pry the roots off me. They held tight and crept higher up my legs; cocooning me. A rose bush began to sprout from the roots, and the thorns pressed against my costume. The fabric held firm, but I still felt the prickly pressure of the thorns trying to puncture through to my skin.

"Chat Noir!" I looked up to see my baton soaring through the air, slicing through the roots, and freeing my legs. Ladybug lassoed me with her yo-yo, and pulled me out of danger almost too quickly for me to scoop up my returned baton. We climbed up the outside of the Eiffel Tower; reaching the highest level in seconds.

Then Ladybug abruptly turned on me.

"What were you doing down there?" Her voice was cautious and concerned, but also demanding. The tone sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't quite figure out why.

"Giving you more time to figure this out. So did you?"

"You didn't have to be so reckless about it. Locking me inside the elevator? Fighting those things alone? What has gotten into you tonight?"

"First of all, you had to fight them alone while you were waiting for me. Secondly, I've acted as your shield before. I don't see why it's so upsetting to you now, all of a sudden."

Her face softened as her eyes flicked between mine. "Chat-" She stepped closer, and I backed away. "It's not upsetting to me 'all of a sudden.' It has always upset me that you sacrifice yourself to protect me. That there are times where you have no choice because I couldn't avoid getting hit otherwise. I should be good enough to protect myself without you needing to do that."

Fantastic. Because of my own foolishness Ladybug was now doubting herself. How much more could I screw up?

"But tonight?" she continued, "You're not just shielding me so I have time to stop the akuma. You're out right putting yourself in danger. I'm worried about you." That cautiously concerned tone still hung in her voice. I knew I had heard it before, and fairly recently, but I couldn't pin-point when. She then placed a hand on my shoulder.

Under normal circumstances, I would have reveled in the moment. In the gentle touch and show of affection. Now that I was in this whole mess from my spying on Marinette, I couldn't be near my partner. I jerked away from her as if her touch burnt me.

"I'm fine. We have more pressing matters." I hated how much I sounded like my father.

"They can wait another minute." Her eyes darted behind me; checking to see if Terravenger had caught up yet. Then she tried to lock eyes with me again. I wouldn't let her. "You're off tonight, Kitty. You sure you're okay?"

My mouth tasted bitter.

"Yeah, nevermind me. I just have a lot of-." I bit my lip as I tried to find the right word for it. "Personal stuff going on right now that I need to sort through. And since you don't want us to know each other's identities-." I let the last word linger for a couple of seconds as I extended my baton into a staff.

"Chat, you know we can't know. It's too dangerous." There was almost a pleading in her voice, as if even she was torn between saying "don't you dare tell me" and "forget the rules; I want to know." I couldn't handle it. I needed to fight. I needed to take down this akuma. I needed to run away from Ladybug.

"Yeah. I know," I finally choked out, "so no point trying to talk through my stuff." I stood at the ready against the banister; no longer looking at her. Terravenger was using his bushes to rise up to our level. He was about half way there."Did you figure out where the akuma is?"

There was a pause. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw her hold out Michel's pin.

"The emblem on his chest looks like it's part of the fabric, but I think you're on the right track with this pin. The button he presses to switch between seeds is about this size and also has a white background. Perhaps that's where the akuma is."

"Sounds like a plan. I'll try to clear a path." Terravenger was only a few meters below us now, so I dove down to confront him. I barely registered Ladybug yelling out my name as I leapt off the Tower.

With a battle cry, I swung my baton at him. He blocked it as I fell past him, but I got his attention. I got him to stop and turn long enough for Ladybug to move to the antenna of the Tower. I hoped it meant she was out of range of his seeds, at least for a little bit.

I plummeted to the ground, and I wasn't sure if I had really distracted Terravenger enough. I prayed that he'd turn and follow me: the idiot cat who was just throwing himself into danger. Maybe I could draw him from Ladybug until she could figure out how to get that pin off his chest.

Extending my baton further, I caught the end of it in some of the shrubbery he had grown up the frame of the Eiffel Tower. I ran across the baton to get back to the building. The bush was already expanding out onto it; absorbing my baton. Once I was close to the encroaching overgrowth, I bent down and hit my baton, collapsing it.

A vine whipped out at me, and I had to jump off my baton before I could grab it. It disappeared inside the juniper overrunning that part of the Tower. I was again without my weapon. I dove for the lattice iron work that made up the bottling neck of the Tower. Most of it was cushioned by vegetation, and I had a hard time finding open holes to drop further down.

The plants themselves kept growing, trying to wrap me up inside them. Then a few of the plant people emerged. They ran at me, whipping at me with their vine fingers. I knocked them away from me, but kept an eye out for Terravenger. He hadn't shown yet. My attack seemed to have been in vain. He wasn't chasing after me. He was letting his plant minions do that.

I fought my way back to the outside of the Tower so I could climb back up to the top. I didn't lure the villain away from Ladybug, so I had to be by her side to help her fight. I leapt up a few meters, caught the shrubs now growing along the side of the Tower, and used it to push off and leap another few meters. As I closed in on the top visitor's level of the Tower a vine wrapped around my waist and yanked me inside the support beams.

I clawed at the vines. I pulled at them. But my arms were wrapped next; pinning them to my sides. Five different plant people walked towards me. Each of them had their arms stretched out, and their fingers of thick ivy lassoed me. I wiggled and yanked, but I didn't knock any of them off balance, and my binds didn't loosen. I was quickly getting entombed. Ladybug wasn't around to use her yo-yo or my baton to break the vines.

One of the plant people waddled over and reached down for my ring. It forced my fist open so it could slide the ring off.

 _My ring! Of course!_ I had held out as long as I could, but if I didn't use my Cataclysm now I probably wouldn't be Chat Noir for much longer.

"Cataclysm!" My hand bubbled black for a second before I touched the outside of my cocoon. The vines instantly shriveled up before bursting into ash. The poor plant people ashed along with their vined fingers. Once free, I raced to the top of the Tower. Luckily, there were no more minions placed that high up, and I was able to reach the highest floor in seconds.

The place was nearly as densely overgrown as the Place des Vosges. I could barely see the door to Gustave Eiffel's office.

 _What if Ladybug is in the office?_ I panicked. I looked down at my blinking ring. _I used my Cataclysm already. I won't be able to get her out._ I silently cursed myself for my stupidity and recklessness.

"Ladybug? Ladybug, where are you?" I called out. I probably shouldn't have, but there was no way I could find her in the thick brush, and I knew she was probably using her yo-yo, which meant no communicator.

"Chat Noir! There you are!" She dropped beside me a couple seconds after I yelled for her.

"He didn't follow me like I thought he would," I flatly stated.

"No, he didn't."

On cue, Terravenger rounded the corner and shot his larger brown seeds at the plant-covered ground. A squad of plant people sprouted and charged at us.

We ran as fast as we could in the opposite direction. Vaulting over the stumps of growing shrubs and trees like we were leaping across rooftops.

"We need to disarm him. Chat Noir, could you-"

My ring beeped. A minute had passed since I used my power. Ladybug's eyes darted to it.

"You used your Cataclysm?"

"I needed it to break out of a vine cocoon," I sheepishly admitted.

"There goes that idea then. We'll have to hurry. Could you-" She scanned my hands and my lower back. "Where's your stick?"

"Inside one of the juniper bushes." I pointed down to a wider portion of the Eiffel Tower.

She blew out a long breath; trying to recenter herself. "Okay, don't be stupid, but hold them off me as long as you can."

 _Don't be stupid._ I flinched. I had spent the entire fight not thinking and I wasn't sure why.

"Lucky Charm!"

I managed to break off a branch from one of the trees growing about three-hundred meters above the ground. It was clunky, but it was a weapon, and a good enough temporary replacement for my baton. I swept around Ladybug as she used her power, trying to keep the plants from attacking her.

As my ring beeped a second time a pair of chopsticks fell into Ladybug's awaiting hands.

"Um, I guess I need to eat more vegetables." She turned to me with a smirk, which vanished when she realized I wasn't smiling at her joke. I really wasn't in the mood that night.

"Okay, time for some space." She attached the chopsticks to her suit with some magical magnetic field – or whatever it was that made her Lucky Charms and my baton stick – grabbed me around the waist, and threw her yo-yo out to swing us down to ground level again.

"Uh, Ladybug? I don't have much time. Why are we retreating again?"

"Give me a second, Kitty. I need to figure this out. Terravenger will be here soon enough."

She wasn't wrong. As soon as we flew off the top of the Eiffel Tower the Supervillain of the Day leapt onto his bushes growing up the Tower. From ground level, the famous building now looked more like the world's largest topiary. Which meant Terravenger had more than enough weapon power. He slid down the shrubbery with ease, closing in on us quickly.

Ladybug held out the chopsticks as she scanned the area to try to figure out what to do with them. Still holding onto my broken off branch, I swatted as many of the root seeds out of the air as I could. A horde of plant people charged us, and I smacked them away. Terravenger was nearly at ground level himself. I had only three pads left on my ring. We were running out of time.

"Got it!" Abruptly, Ladybug dove for a thin branch that had broken off as the trees that had followed Terravenger from the Place des Vosges grew into each other. With a couple of loops around one end of the stick, Ladybug pulled the opposite end down and threaded it through the ring of her yo-yo: creating a bow. She placed both chopsticks on the string like dual arrows.

"Yo, Terravenger, over here!" she mocked as she pulled the string back; holding tight to the chopsticks to keep them nocked.

The villain touched ground with his arms extended, ready to fire more seeds at her. She loosened the chopsticks first. With a little bit of her Ladybug luck, the chopsticks parted in the air and stuck firmly into the seed shooters mounted on the backs of Terravenger's hands. Clogging them.

I raced forward to try to snatch the button off his chest before he could dislodge the chopsticks, but his plant dolls still had it out for me. They blocked my path. I continued to frantically kick and swing, but one of them ripped my makeshift weapon from me. I gave up trying to knock them away, and leapt over the short minions. I skidded to a stop just before Terravenger, but reaching him was now moot. Ladybug had already snapped the button in half.

The akuma started to fly away, but Ladybug calmly traced her hand across the side of her yo-yo to open it up.

"No more evil doing for you, little akuma." She swung her yo-yo around her like a practiced rodeo performer before she threw it straight out to catch the black and purple butterfly. "Time to de-evilize!"

The akuma was easily caught inside the yo-yo. Purified on the yo-yo's trip back into Ladybug's hand.

"Gotcha!" She pressed the button on her yo-yo, and the white akuma flew back out of the trap. "Bye bye, little butterfly."

She then plucked the chopsticks from Terravenger's shooters and threw them in the air, calling out her ultimate power: Miraculous Ladybug.

The swarm of magical ladybugs exploded in all directions, reverting Paris back to the bustling urban landscape, and reattaching my baton to my back.. The black fog bubbled off of Terravenger, returning him to Michel, the environmentalist university student. Then Ladybug held out her fist.

I barely tapped it with my knuckles as I muttered "pound it" in time with her celebratory cheer. It didn't feel like a win for me. Even when I tried to only focus on the fight I still managed to screw up majorly. She spent too much time waiting for me, saving me, and fighting Terravenger on her own. I was no partner. I was barely a sidekick. I didn't deserve to celebrate with her.

"Chat Noir?" She turned to me, and I bolted.

* * *

 ****A/N:** **Whoo... At 13 pages and over 6000 words I had no choice. I had to split this chapter. So it looks like we're now up to a 15-chapter story.**

 **Also, I hate akuma attacks! I had been trying to figure out this second akuma since I wrote the first draft of this chapter during NaNoWriMo last November! Half a year to figure it out! How does Astruc's staff figure out enough of these to fill a season!?**

 **Also also, congratulations to all my readers who picked up that poor Michel was going to be akumatized.****


	10. Failure

****A/N:** **This chapter brought to you by the song "Burn It Up All Night" by Sweet Talker being played on repeat about 100x**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 10: FAILURE**

I leapt across the rooftops of Paris, running as far away from Ladybug as I could. I needed to transform back into Adrien. I couldn't wait for my Miraculous to power down. I couldn't stand to be Chat Noir a minute longer. I didn't deserve to be Chat Noir.

What kind of superhero was I? Paris needed me sand I almost slept through it. Ladybug needed me, and I wasn't by her side. I tried to prove myself, and I simply proved myself a failure. I was _with_ Michel before he was akumatized, and I couldn't protect him from becoming another one of Hawk Moth's puppets. Everything went down at the Place des Vosges. Marinette could have-

I couldn't think about what might have happened to Marinette. I just hoped that the Miraculous Ladybug power managed to make sure Marinette and her parents were unharmed, and that their warm little home was good as new.

I had to just trust that Marinette was alright, because I failed her too. I did nothing to help save or protect her. I couldn't even check in on her. I didn't have time. I just needed to get home.

The towering, blue-slate shingled roof of my father's mansion rolled into view as I touched down on the flattened cross-beam of the terraced houses a block away. I leapt back off, and instantly felt a jerk as my forward momentum reversed.

My arms were pinned to my sides as I was yanked back to the rooftop I had just left.

"Whoa, there, Kitty!" Ladybug pulled on her yo-yo and the string spun me like a top. After three rotations, she grabbed my shoulders to steady me.

My eyes refocused, and her gorgeous face filled my entire view. Those playful pigtails. Her sparkling blue eyes. Her cute little button-nose. And was that a set of freckles just barely peeking out from under her mask? Didn't Marinette also have an adorable little bridge of pale freckles across her nose?

I pushed Ladybug away from me. I couldn't do this. I couldn't handle it right now.

"Chat Noir?" Her voice was soft and sweet. It reminded me of Marinette's, and it stung. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I already told you. It's personal. You don't want us to talk about personal stuff."

"There has to be _something_ you can tell me. Is this about the akuma? Your family? Your home life? Is this about being a superhero? About me?"

I flinched, and her eyes widened at the movement.

"Did someone say something about me? Or about you as a superhero? Or about us as a team?"

"We're no team." I screwed my eyes shut, trying to force my eyes to dry up.

"Chat-"

"You took care of Terravenger all by yourself while you were waiting for me to finally show up. Once I did you were still taking care of everything by yourself. What was I even doing in that battle, huh? You pretty much single-handedly took him down. You didn't need me. You never did. Not with this akuma. Not with others. I'm no superhero. I'm so lame compared to you."

"That's not true! Chat, tell me right now that you know that none of that is true! We're partners. I can't be Ladybug without you. I never would have if it weren't for your encouragement."

For every step Ladybug took towards me I took a step back away from her. I couldn't handle the pain on her face. My chest burned. I wanted to tell her that I knew she was right. That we were partners, just as she has always told Paris. She had always treated me as an equal. She might have actually believed we were.

That night though, I didn't feel like her partner. I didn't deserve to be. You should be able to trust your partner. I didn't deserve that trust from her.

My ring beeped. I only had a minute left as Chat Noir.

"Chat? Tell me you-" her earrings beeped. She was nearly out of time as well. She brushed her fingers against the earrings as if she were trying to hide that fact from me.

Without thinking, I closed the gap between us in two large steps. I couldn't count the heartbeats to figure out how much time I was taking. My heart was going too quick. I didn't bother looking at Ladybug; I couldn't. I simply threw out my arms, and pulled her into an embrace that threw her off balance. I pressed her against my chest and breathed her in. It wasn't like in the mall where she smelled of salt, butter, and chocolate. Now she was back to having the windswept scent of Paris.

"I'm sorry," I whispered in her ear. Before she could catch her bearings, I held her at arm's length. Once I was certain she was steady enough on her feet to not fall off the roof, I let her go.

She squinted at me; completely lost as her mind was clearly trying to process what just happened. Before she could finish computing everything, I pressed the cat-paw button on my baton. It shot me high above the rooftops, and I vanished into the sea of houses the next block over.

I knew Ladybug wouldn't pursue, even if she wanted to. We were both close to transforming back to our civilian selves, and she would never chance us finding out who the other was. Our secret identities were too precious to her.

I raced home. I tried to run fast enough to leave the pain behind me. I felt like the biggest scum. I was no good for anyone. What was wrong with me? Why couldn't I get this whole superhero thing figured out like Ladybug? Yeah, she would trip up sometimes, like with Mimicker, Vanisher, or Volpina, but she'd figure it all out in the end and still manage to save everyone. Me? Once I tripped I just rolled downhill fast.

Even in my civilian life I was useless. Why couldn't I be a proper friend like Marinette? She knew things that I would like, such as the soup, without obsessively spying on me. I hadn't even realized the color of her eyes or the fact that she wore red hair ties until the day before. I never would have guessed that she had mastered the intense levels of _Shields of Justice_ , or that she loved Jagged Stone so much she danced around her room like she was him.

What else didn't I know about Marinette? What more did she know about me? I know I was kind of new with this whole "having friends" thing, but to be this bad at it?

I leapt through my bedroom window and dove into my bed as Plagg flew back out of my ring.

"Wah, so exhausted!" he whined. I ignored him. I buried my head under my pillows and groaned as tears stung my eyes.

"Adrien, you kinda sucked out there. If you're going to strain me that bad you could at least do better work. Otherwise, we could have just stayed here and rested if you were going to have Ladybug do everything anyway."

I smacked Plagg with my pillow. It didn't seem to hurt him, especially since he could phase through objects, but it was enough to rattle him and let him know I wasn't in the mood. I couldn't handle his ribbing. Not when I already felt so miserable about it. I couldn't handle him voicing everything that had been playing through my head since Ladybug snapped Terravenger's pin.

"Adrien?" Plagg poked his head out from under the pillow. His ears were flat against his head and his tail was listless as he mewed up at me. Great. Someone else concerned about me. All I was doing was making people worried. Some great superheroing there.

I turned to my side, but saw the Ladyblog still up on my computer. An entire site dedicated to how amazing Ladybug was, and barely a mention of Chat Noir on it. Of course there wasn't. It didn't matter what Ladybug said, or claimed she felt. I knew I was barely a glorified sidekick compared to her.

I held up my right hand and just stared at the Cat Miraculous ring. It felt heavy and tight all of a sudden. I wanted it off my finger, but I feared removing it. Feared losing the new half of me.

I couldn't be Chat Noir without the mask. I couldn't be that free or playful. I couldn't make the same bold mistakes I did against Terravenger. I had no escape from my father or my bedroom without Plagg or Chat Noir. Could I really lock that part of me away? What if Ladybug was right, and she couldn't save Paris without me?

Would she still think that way after she found out what I did as Chat Noir for a week? Would I still be her equal? Would she still think of us as partners?

Frustrated, I huffed over to my computer and turned all the screens off. I growled out in anguish before flopping back into bed.

"Adrien? Are you alright?" My bedroom door opened, but thankfully Plagg had stayed under the pillow I threw at him.

Nathalie's eyebrows scrunched together, which was probably the most emotion she allowed herself to display. The Gorilla peeked through the door behind her. He was as silent as always, but his face was more of the traditional matte of concern.

With the akuma attack in Paris, they were probably posted at my bedroom doors to make sure I was safe. Thankfully, it seemed neither of them had attempted to actually come in to check on me. I hadn't thought that through when I left. Something else I was sure Ladybug was better at than me: making sure her civilian half had an alibi during akuma attacks. I had no clue how I would have explained my absence if either of them had asked me about it. I couldn't imagine the pain I would have caused them and my father if they knew Adrien was "missing" during an akuma attack.

Even as a son and ward I was a failure.

"Yeah, sorry, Nathalie. I guess I'm just getting cabin fever from being in here for so long. I just want to feel better already." I pulled my blankets up over my head.

"Get some rest. You can try school again tomorrow." Nathalie's voice was very matter-of-fact, like Father's, but it also had a hint of maternal concern, like Mom's. She hummed an unsure note as she debated if more needed to be done before giving up and closing the door behind her.

Then I cried.

* * *

 ****A/N:** **Sorry for such a short chapter for this week's update. Only five more chapters to go, so they're going to go quick as things wrap up. I just couldn't justify adding another 2000 words to last week's chapter.****


	11. Truth

****A/N: This is it! This is the chapter that started it all. The one I used as a teaser back in September. It has evolved a little bit, and I hope for the better. The whole thing was inspired by the song "Why We Lose" by Cartoon and featuring Coleman Trapp.****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 11: TRUTH**

I was eerily calm when I woke up, my mind still briefly blank. My emotions were more in check after sobbing myself to sleep. There was still a melancholy, but not an overwhelming sadness and sense of defeat. I stayed still as I took in my room. My soft pillow under my head, the warmth of my blanket draped around me, the crispness of the air still wafting in through my window.

The same one I leapt through earlier.

My heart condensed into a rock that ripped through my stomach. I had leapt through that window after my pathetic show as a superhero against Terravenger. Ladybug had tried to tell me otherwise, but I still felt like I failed her.

I wanted to crying again, but my eyes stayed dry. What was done was done, and Paris was saved regardless. I had to figure out a way to make it up to Ladybug, but that wasn't my priority. My priority was to figure out how to get myself out of the mess I dove into, so I would never be that pathetic a partner again. Assuming I would still be her partner.

I rolled over to look at my desk. It was late; hours after Ladybug had saved the day. Plagg was nestled inside a nearly empty Camembert container that he had floated up from the mini-fridge. I wondered if he had any cheese left after getting it back from the encroaching vines, or if he had greedily devoured it all. It didn't matter. I could get him more easily enough. It was the least I could do for him sticking by me all this time.

Next to Plagg was a red string with an assortment of plastic beads strung across it: Marinette's good luck charm. I had taken it out of my jeans pocket the night before; during my withdrawal symptoms. At first I thought it would calm me, like it nearly did that second night. Then I just wanted it out of my pocket; away from me. I didn't deserve the gift, and I wanted nothing to do with it.

I didn't get very far with getting rid of the bracelet. I never figured out what to do: hide it somewhere, stash it in with my valuables, pack it and have Nathalie put it in storage, send it back to Marinette, throw it out? So on my desk it sat; calling out to me. Mocking me.

 _Marinette knew you'd like this,_ it taunted. _Marinette was able to do a nice thing to cheer you up. She could always find a way to cheer you up. She's such a great friend, and you repay her by spying on her. Betraying her trust._

I sighed. My chest ached with heartburn. I couldn't handle the charm mocking me, so I got up and shoved it in the same hiding place as my unsigned valentine's day card. I just needed it out of my sight, but I also still needed it safe.

I was pathetic.

I had waited long enough. Put it off long enough. Given enough excuses to try to justify my procrastination. I could have procrastinated longer: it was nearly eleven. I could wait another day to confess to Marinette.

But, I really couldn't. I still had no clue how to interact with her the next day with all of this on my conscience. She'd be smiling that goofy, toothy grin as she gave me the soup she made; hoping it would help with my recovery from an illness I didn't even have. She'd check in on me to make sure I was alright, and I'd have to lie and say "yes" to make sure she wouldn't worry. I'd have to go the whole day pretending everything was alright while my insides would be churned into butter.

I mean, I'd have to do all of that anyway, but with the added bonus of her being repulsed by Chat Noir if I confessed. On the flip side, at least she'd know. She deserved to know. With everything she tried to do for me, the very least I could do was let her know. And promise I'd never do it again. Not that it would matter at that point.

I hated it, but I had decided. Without any of the fervor I normally had, I held up my hand. "Plagg," I sighed, almost afraid to say the next two words. "Claws out."

He got sucked into my ring and a green light glowed around me. I didn't go through my normal joyous routine of spreading my mask on, messing my hair as the ears popped up, or clawing at the air around me as I was draped in my leather-like costume. Instead, I stood still with my arms straight out to each side and with my eyes closed; letting the transformation just happen to me.

Once I was Chat Noir, I stood solemnly in the middle of my room. My eyes slowly raised to the open window. I knew where I needed to head, but I just wanted to hide in my bed again. I had already failed Ladybug that day, I really didn't want to add Marinette to the list.

"I have to. I can't keep doing this. I can't keep putting it off." I took a deep breath and jumped up into the window. I scanned the streets. Maybe I was hoping that I would be distracted again, like when Marinette came to drop off the soup this afternoon.

My stomach dropped into my knees. Further proof that she was a much better friend. I would have never thought to bring her anything to help her recover from an illness. Man, I suck.

Choking down some bile, I leapt over to the fence around my father's house, and then another leap into the park leading to Marinette's home. The place looked exactly like it once did; not a trace of Terravenger or a battle in the park was left behind. Of course there wasn't. Ladybug's restorative powers were exactly as the name implied: miraculous. It still amazed me that such grave destruction could happen to Paris, and with two words it could all be erased as if Paris was never touched by anything foul.

In a minute or two I was at the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue. I paused at the monument and fought back the urge to use Cataclysm on my bronzed face. I wanted to wipe myself off that tribute. Ladybug was the only one who deserved to be on a pedestal. I stared myself down.

"You're no superhero. You're only a super-loser."

The bronzed version of me just grinned dumbly. He didn't care what I thought of Chat Noir. He was simply happy to be there. My eyes drifted to the Ladybug part of the statue. She was leaping off Chat Noir's back. He was supporting her. If he wasn't there, she couldn't be.

" _I can't be Ladybug without you. I never would have if it weren't for your encouragement."_ I heard her words ring through my head. I leapt up onto the pedestal of the statue in order to look upon her better. My heart eased. I was expecting it to run rampant out of guilt, fear, or regret. Yet, seeing that smile on her statue, I somehow knew that she was telling me the truth.

Once more I had screwed up. In my opinion it was way worse than whenever I got brainwashed by an akumatized supervillain, because I was fully in charge of my mind and body, and I _still_ failed. Yet Ladybug continued to remind me that she believed in me; trusted me. That we were partners: always.

" _We're cool, right?"_

" _Always."_

Marinette had reassured me that we'd always be friends. Regardless of what she thought of Chat Noir, maybe Marinette's friendship with Adrien could survive. Didn't mean I really wanted to test that theory though. I stared up at Marinette's room, and prayed that she'd be asleep already. It _was_ about eleven on a school night.

Thing is, black cats don't have good luck; kind of the point of my powers. The light was still on in Marinette's attic bedroom; flooding the top floor of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. This was it. This was going to be the last night I would creep up to Marinette's room. This was the last time I'd watch her without her knowledge. It was possibly the last time I'd see her at all as Chat Noir. I was finding it hard to swallow, but I used my baton to shoot myself up to the window facing Place des Vosges.

I landed just above the drain pipe that ran across the third floor, and secured my baton to my back. I motioned to tap on her window, but my fist stopped mid-air. She was dancing again. Dear lord, she was dancing in her room, and it made me freeze.

She had her pajamas on: little pink shorts with white cherry blossoms on them, and a matching white spaghetti top adorned with a tiny black bow at the center of the neckline. She wasn't listening to Jagged Stone this time. It was electronica, but not the soulless sound of XY. It had a haunting synth whine, a gritty guitar melody, an empowering drum build, and mournful vocals. The whole thing pumped melancholic energy into the air, but it was somehow sensual at the same time.

And there she was, in those pajamas, swaying her hips and bobbing her head to the slow build of the music. She was packing up her homework into her bag as she fluidly moved to the alluring melody. Once everything was picked up off her desk, she zipped her bag closed; getting her shoulders into the hypnotizing wave of her body. Lifting the bag over her head with one hand, she twirled over to her chaise and rested it at the foot.

I tucked under her window sill to make sure she didn't see me, but she remained facing the other way. I peeked back in as she slithered over to her full length mirror. She started pulling her hair out of her pigtails just as the bass climbed up in intensity with a reverberating synth tone. The bass dropped, the pace of the song doubled, and Marinette shook her hair loose with enough fervor that her whole body convulsed with the beat.

The music erupted into the pounding chorus riff. Marinette skated across her bedroom floor like a ballerina transitioning into hip hop. Her freely loosened hair cascaded over her shoulders, waving wildly as she tossed her head to the song. Her ebony locks flung into her face, but in another bob of her head they were out of the way again. She jumped up onto her chaise before twirling and sliding back onto the floor.

She was so dizzying to watch that I began seeing deep pink streaks of light jet around her, just as I did when I watched her dancing to Jagged Stone. I blinked a couple of times to re-adjust and the pink streaks were gone. Must have been a trick of the light combined with the pink of her shorts.

Marinette was still clueless of my watching her as she continued to dance. She hopped up a couple of stairs towards her bed before dropping back off. Landing with one knee in her computer chair, she spun it across her room, using her free foot to drag and direct the chair's dancing.

As she neared the window I was watching from, I ducked against the roof so she wouldn't notice me. Tonight was not the night to be caught. I couldn't confess simply because she caught me. I had to confess out of honest guilt. I pressed my head against the shingles of her roof and listened. I heard the pounding of the bass beat, the sorrowful synth whine, and the encouraging pain in the singer's voice. There was also the padding of Marinette's bare feet against her floor as she danced. I didn't dare to look again; she was still too close to the window. Instead I just stayed frozen against that roof, eyes closed, and picturing her dance. My heart raced.

 _Stop projecting_ , I scolded myself. I couldn't help it, though. Seeing the smooth lines of Marinette's bare arms and legs reminded me so much of Ladybug that as I pictured my classmate dancing around her room I didn't picture her in the pajamas. I pictured her gracefully leaping around her room in Ladybug's costume. Then I realized I was just picturing Ladybug in Marinette's room.

"What is wrong with me?" I softly hissed.

"Marinette?"

I jumped, and nearly fell off the building as I heard Mrs. Cheng's voice. I wasn't sure what would be worse, Marinette catching me peeping, or her parents. Mr. Dupain seemed like a gentle giant, but I definitely didn't want to see if he had a temper when provoked.

With my own jumping, I almost didn't notice Marinette getting just as startled; tripping over her backpack as her mother's voice broke the spell of agility the music had cast on her. As she always seemed to do while in her room, Marinette recovered with a few simple hops before catching her balance and standing on both feet again.

"Y-yeah, Mom?" She timidly called back down through her bedroom trapdoor.

"It's past eleven and you have school tomorrow. Turn off the music and go to bed already. You're late often enough as it is without being a night owl." The woman's voice was stern but also soothed with maternal care. Anyone who heard it could tell that she meant business, but wasn't harsh about it.

"Sorry, Mom. You're right. I'll go to bed. Night. Love you."

My heart sank past my stomach as I heard Marinette's response. It wasn't her voice, or how she replied with equal parts meek and energized. It was the fact that she had someone checking in on her to make sure she got enough sleep. It was the fact that Marinette had someone to say goodnight to. I couldn't recall the last time I saw my father past dinner. I don't remember if I've ever told him goodnight, at least, not as the last thing I said to anyone before going to bed. Same went for Nathalie or the Gorilla. If I did bother to say goodnight to any of them, it was generally hours before I went to bed, when we realized we wouldn't see each other anymore that day. Saying goodnight as the last thing spoken before bed? I don't think I've done that since Mom disappeared.

I choked back some tears as my pain was emphasized by the melancholic sound of the song Marinette had been listening to. The song ended, and there was silence as Marinette turned her computer off. All at once, I wanted desperately to run into that room and just hug her; thank her for the last few moments, and for attempting to give me the soup. I also wanted to stay pressed against her roof, or even climb to her balcony, and just rest there, knowing that I was at a loving home; the same reason I started coming to Marinette's house as Chat Noir in the first place. Finally, I wanted to take that warm feeling and just sprint home so it could tuck me in, and maybe I could get a good night's rest.

The only thing I was certain of was that I didn't want to ruin anything by confessing to Marinette what I had been doing. I couldn't throw away this sanctuary I built. I felt guilty, but I also felt the most at peace at this home. I wasn't just some guest like I was at Nino's. I was silent. I was unnoticed. I was part of the building, and I could experience the raw, unfiltered wholeness of Marinette's family.

I hated myself for slipping again. I was better than this. Marinette and Ladybug both deserved me to be better than this. Tears streaked my mask as I realized that I just couldn't bring myself to let Marinette know, and give all of this calm. Give up my mental zen garden. I pushed myself into a pouncing position so I could hurry home before my conscience could kick in.

Then two words choked me into staying.

"Night, Tikki," Marinette yawned softly in her room. She was already up in her bed on the other side of the attic bedroom. I wasn't actively paying attention. Yet the sudden stillness of the night made my heightened hearing zero in on those two words.

 _Night. Tikki._ Who was she talking to? She didn't have any pets. She wouldn't call her parents by their name, and Tikki wasn't her mother's name anyway. We didn't have any classmates named Tikki, so it couldn't have been anyone she might have had on the phone. Besides, why would she dance around her room if she was on the phone with someone? I felt like I had heard the name before. Somewhere, but I couldn't place it.

 _Tikki._ The name rang out in my mind, creating a small, dark spiral hinting at who Tikki was. The darkness threatening to consume my mind was countered by a microscopic flame of hope starting in my chest. It couldn't be true. There was no way. But it also made sense somehow. I had to check. I didn't care how much of a creeper I was, I scurried up to Marinette's balcony, and peeked into her skylight.

Marinette had already snuggled against the cat body pillow that curved along the head of her bed. Her eyes were closed as she curled into awaiting slumber. She was adorable, but my focus was on a small deep pink spot on the pillow next to her.

I couldn't quite tell what it was, but it had a bulbous head, and a small body with two arms and two legs, but no distinguishable hands or feet. On its forehead, and each side of its face, was a large, black spot.

I forgot how to breathe. My heart stopped beating, but there was deafening pounding in my ears. My muscles locked up and became jelly at the same time. I felt like I was going to vomit. I felt like I was lighter than air. I was hot. I had a chill.

The pink thing looked so similar to Plagg's body type. I couldn't think of any other explanation: it was a kwami. It was Ladybug's kwami, just like Plagg was Chat Noir's. Just like Plagg was mine. This was Marinette's kwami. This was Ladybug.

I sprinted to the banister on the opposite side of Marinette's balcony and tried to force air back into my lungs. Paris spun around me, and I had to collapse to the floor.

That night that Marinette drew the sundress, and I thought she was talking to herself. When I thought I heard an echo while Marinette was struggling with her homework. The times people thought she was talking to her purse. The other night when she was dancing to Jagged Stone and I thought I saw pink streaks of light around her. Just a few minutes ago, when I once again thought I had been imagining the pink blur following her as she danced. Was it all Ladybug's kwami that whole time?

"Plagg, claws in!" I was louder than I wanted, but managed to keep my voice low enough that it didn't seem like Marinette heard me. My voice was panicked, calm, excited, terrified, confident, and confused. There was also a bit of a prepubescent-like squeak that I hoped Plagg wouldn't tease me about. Thankfully, he had his own concerns.

"Was that?" His eyes were wide and pleading. I had never seen Plagg like this: just as shaken as I was. He was normally so lackadaisical that I hoped his lethargic nature would calm me. The kwami never failed to break my expectations of him as he zipped over to Marinette's skylight.

"It is her! It's Tikki!" Plagg's voice was strained as he fought back emotions, which, frankly, I didn't realize he had outside his love for Camembert. He lingered, silent, at the window.

"Plagg," I whined, "Get back over here."

He stayed by the window a long moment more before sadly drifting back over to me, keeping an eye on the window the whole time.

"That's- that's Ladybug's kwami, right?" My voice was tight as I mentally begged for him to tell me yes.

"That's Tikki." He had a longing in his reply, a coo that had a joy behind it, like when he just had a good laugh at my expense.

"But Tikki is Ladybug's kwami, right? Does- Is Marinette Ladybug?" I wanted to reach out and grab him. I wanted to press him against my nose so he had to focus on me. I shook as I waited his confirmation.

His wistfulness broke away from him as if he just awoke from being akumatized.

"You did it, Adrien! You found your Ladybug! Don't just sit here, come on, let's go tell her!"

My chest swelled with a warm burst and a chill ran up my back. She was right there. She was sleeping not even a meter below me. I had found her! I had found my Ladybug!

Why wasn't I excited? Why was I scared? Wasn't this the best of both worlds? I had always loved Ladybug, and I felt like I was betraying that love because I was growing a crush on Marinette. I didn't need to feel guilty; I was just falling for the other side of her.

Was I, though? I never thought about Marinette in a romantic sense before I started picturing her as Ladybug. Was that it? Did I only love her Ladybug half? I would want her to love both my Chat Noir and Adrien sides, but could I truly say that I loved her as both Ladybug and Marinette?

"Plagg, Claws Out!"

"Adrien, wait-"

I was Chat Noir again before he could protest, and I raced home. I ran from Marinette. I ran from Ladybug. I ran from the Dupain-Cheng house. I ran from all the confusion. I ran.

* * *

 ****A/N: Poor guy. He ALMOST figured it out completely on his own.**

 **Last year I was in a slump. I wanted to kill some time while eating dinner, and decided to see what all the fuss was about with "Miraculous Ladybug." I was hooked pretty quickly. That was July. For August I was part of a summer writing challenge, and I challenged myself to write a new prompt each day. I sat in my room and listened to "Why We Lose" while trying to figure out a different prompt, and this chapter popped into my head. Specifically, Marinette dancing to the song and Chat Noir watching her. I polished it up and posted it in September, but I knew there was more there. For November's NaNoWriMo I wrote the rest of "Peeping Tomcat." It was a struggle, but you can check out my blog for details. I took a break in December, and started editing January through March. Which brings us to the version you've been reading. Such a journey, but I'm so glad to be on it.**

 **Thank you for being on it with me. Love you all!**

 **See you next Friday!****


	12. Crisis

****A/N: It was a bit of a chaotic week, and this chapter ended up needing almost a complete rewrite. 0_o But it's up on time!****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 12: CRISIS**

"What was that? She was _right there!"_ Plagg gestured wildly towards my bedroom window as I frantically paced around my sofa.

"Marinette is Ladybug. Ladybug is Marinette. Marinette and Ladybug are the same person. This whole time. This _whole_ time. This whole time!" I dug my fingers deep into my hair as I repeated my mantra. I switched directions. Maybe going clockwise around my sofa would clear things up.

It didn't.

"Marinette and Ladybug are the same person."

"Adrien." Plagg floated in front of me, his arms crossed and his tail twitched with agitation.

I ignored him, walking slightly off my path to avoid him, and then slid right back into the groove I was probably wearing into the floor. "My heart was being torn between Ladybug _and_ Ladybug. Sorta."

"Adrien." Plagg again hovered in my face, his voice louder this time.

I dodged him a second time by pivoting on my heels and trying counter-clockwise laps around my sofa again. "Ladybug was sitting behind me in class this whole time. _Behind me in class, Plagg!_ "

Not to mention that I had hung out with her. I was in her room. I unknowingly held my lady in my arms as I saved Marinette from akuma attacks. We had gone to concerts together. I had shared my popcorn with her. _I had nearly kissed her in Nino's and Alya's horror film!_

"Adrien!" Plagg shouted, his whole body uncurled with the energy of the outburst. It was enough to finally snag my attention. "Why did you run away? She was right there. You had found her."

I couldn't quite pin the undertone of his voice. Was it exasperation? Concern? Actually, it almost felt accusatory.

"What do you mean, 'why did I run away'? Are you not hearing me right now? I'm freaking out!"

"I'll say." Plagg rolled his eyes and floated over to the mini-fridge. "What's the big deal anyway? You wanted to know who Ladybug is, and now you do. You felt guilty about liking both Ladybug and Marinette, and now you don't need to choose between them. You're freaking out over nothing." He shook his head and phased into the fridge. The door unlatched and he floated back out with his arms full of Camembert wedges.

"Yeah, I wanted to know who Ladybug is, but _Ladybug_ didn't want me to know. This is bad, Plagg. This is so bad."

" _Chat, you know we can't know."_ Ladybug had told me. " _It's too dangerous."_

I was so screwed.

"What's so bad about it?" Plagg shoved a slice of Camembert into his mouth.

"What's so-? _You_ were the one who told me no one can know about you."

"Eh, I meant civilians. Could you imagine if they found out about kwamis? Plus, it would paint a target on your back. What would stop Hawk Moth from finding out who you are? But I never meant for you to keep your secret identity from Ladybug. That was more Tikki's rule."

"You're saying that this whole time-" My voice went up in pitch with each word. I held back the urge to strangle my kwami; he could just phase through my hands anyway.

I screwed my eyes shut, pinched the bridge of my nose, and sat on my sofa. "Doesn't matter. Ladybug didn't want me to know, and now I do. All because I had to be a complete creepasaurus, and watch Marinette in her room." I sighed as I opened my eyes and stared through my TV; not registering anything in front of me. "Marinette is Ladybug. I- How?"

Even when I asked the question, I knew I already had the answer. How could she _not_ be Ladybug? I had seen it the whole time; I just ignored it. She was the right physical build. She kept her raven hair in pigtails tied back with red bands, and her bangs swept to the left. She even had those adorable freckles that were so faint that most people might miss them. Plus, there were those deep, caring, bluebell-colored eyes.

When Marinette was focused she had Ladybug's agility, and she definitely had surprising reflexes. She was super smart and crafty; always figuring out solutions to tough situations. She was brave, tough, and sweet. She looked for the best in people, except for-

Suddenly, Ladybug's over-the-top frustration with Chloé made complete sense. In fact, a lot of things, mostly about Marinette, now made a lot of sense. Why Marinette was always late to class, or trying to sneak out early. Why she was always so jumpy whenever she was caught somewhere alone (she was probably talking to her kwami, or preparing to transform). Why she seemed a bit flaky with after-school plans. The biggest puzzle piece was why Marinette seemed so at ease around supervillains.

It now felt so fitting that Marinette was calm when she was with Evillustrator. Of course she acted like she had been around akumatized villains before; she _had_. Also, Ladybug's "secret mission" she never told me about, how she knew Marinette's name and address, and why she needed me to watch over my classmate by myself all made perfect sense.

God, I had made a complete fool of myself by trying to act like a brave knight in shining armor around her. _Her._ Ladybug! Just... out of costume. I must have looked like an idiot. Then that time I rescued her from Gamer, and jumped off the top of Le Grand Paris while doing a barrel roll? Did I seriously do that in front of Ladybug? No wonder she didn't like Chat Noir. I was always pathetically showing off in front of her.

No. I didn't know it was my partner. I was showing off in front of Marinette. Both times were me trying to prove myself as this great superhero and protector for Marinette. Why?

Had I always subconsciously known? Was I trying to show off to Marinette in order to win over Ladybug? Or was I showing off because I had always had a crush on Marinette, and just didn't realize it because my love for Ladybug had eclipsed it?

"Gaaah!" I ruffled my hair and started pacing my room again. "Plagg, I can't handle this. I can't handle knowing. What do I do?"

"What do you mean?" Plagg shoved yet another slice of cheese in his mouth, and continued talking as he chewed. "You were the one who whined day in and day out that you wanted to know who was under the mask. You practically begged her to let you know. I swear, it's like her de-transforming inside the hotel closet all over again. You want to know, but you don't." He shook his head and gobbled down his last slice of Camembert.

I collapsed back onto the sofa. The room was spinning, and I couldn't be on my feet.

"I still don't understand why you aren't happy," Plagg continued. "You finally found the love of your life. She turned out to be one of your best friends, and you already have a crush on her secret identity. How are you not celebrating? Is it really that bad that Ladybug turned out to be Marinette?"

"No!" I turned to address Plagg so quickly I nearly toppled my sofa over. As it rocked to even its footing again I draped across the back; my arms dangling limp towards the floor. "I- I mean, yes? No. No, I'm not freaking out because Ladybug is Marinette, but, yeah, I kind of am? I- I don't know what I mean. It's complicated." I groaned again and wedged my face into the sofa's back cushions.

"Humans. Everything is complicated with you." Plagg drifted back to the mini-fridge.

As much as he couldn't understand why my mind was little more than scrambled eggs at the moment, I couldn't fathom how he could still be hungry. He must have eaten at least two full wheels since Terravenger was defeated. Even with his love of Camembert, I had never seen him eat so much of it. I must have really drained him with so many transformations in one day.

I walked over to my bed and flopped face first into my pillows. I buried my head and let out a muffled yell. I had no clue why Plagg was so calm about everything. It _was_ complicated.

Barely two days into working along side Ladybug, I had professed that I loved whomever was under that mask. And I truly did, didn't I? I wasn't just fixated on the fact that Ladybug was a superhero. That didn't matter, because I was one too. The powers weren't what made her special. Everything that made Marinette was. With or without the mask, Ladybug was still smart, and brave, and kind, and supportive, and determined. So what if Marinette was also a bit of a klutz? It was actually kind of enduring, as long as she didn't hurt herself. Plus, it was nice to "save" her as Adrien by catching her falls. And sure, she was kind of meek when she didn't have the protection of her mask, but even her shyness and awkward stuttering was adorable.

Plus, I always felt like I could talk to Ladybug. She was my best friend. And I felt just as comfortable around Marinette. In fact, in my civilian form, I felt the most comfortable and most like myself whenever I was around her. As cool as Nino was, and as much as he encouraged me to let loose and act like a normal kid, there was just something _more_ about Marinette. I could be vulnerable around her, and she wouldn't judge. I could let her know my failures, and she'd try to lift me up.

 _Know my failures._

"My confession!" I popped up so quick the pillows covering my head flew to the floor. "I never confessed to Marinette."

"Nope," came Plagg's helpful reply as he riffled through the mini-fridge still. "Someone got a bit distracted. Human teenagers and their hormones."

I buried my face in my hands and groaned. "I could handle Marinette hating Chat Noir, but if I confess to her I'm also confessing to Ladybug. She'll never want to work with me after that, not when she can't trust me. How could I remain her Chat Noir if she won't be able to rely on her partner? There's no way I can tell Marinette what I've done."

"Weren't you going to let her know anyway?"

"Yeah?" I drew out the word.

Plagg poked his head out of the fridge to give me a knowing look before diving back into his Fort Knox of cheese.

"Okay, so maybe I was trying to avoid letting Ladybug know until I could at least prove myself. If she thought she couldn't protect Paris without me, or that it would at least be a lot harder, maybe my confession wouldn't seem so bad. But after she single-handedly defeated Terravenger? Why would she keep on a Peeping Tomcat as a partner? I told you, Plagg, this is bad!"

"Alright," Plagg called over from the mini-fridge, "so go with your original plan and just wait to tell her. Problem solved." There was the clanging of shelves as he shifted around in the fridge.

"Problem _not_ solved. Marinette deserves to know what I've done."

"And you'll tell her eventually, right? So what harm is there if she doesn't find out right away?"

"How many things turn out fine when I listen to you and wait?"

"Hey," Plagg called out from deep inside the mini-fridge, "Do we have more Camembert somewhere?"

"What?" My mind came to a full-stop as I tried to figure out when we shifted off of my crisis.

"Camembert." Plagg poked his head back out of the fridge, spilling empty cheese wheel containers onto my floor. "Do you have some stashed anywhere?"

"Uh, no. Only what's in the fridge." I lazily pointed to the mini-fridge as I tried to comprehend when our conversation derailed. "Wait. Are you telling me you ate it all? There had to have been about five more wheels left!"

"You're going to have to go get more," Plagg stated dryly as he drifted over to me.

"Yeah, alright. I'll pick some up tomorrow, but-"

"No, Adrien. I need it now."

"Now? You just had how much of it? I'll get more for you tomorrow, you've had enough tonight."

I went over to shut the mini-fridge. Plagg darted in front of my face. His arms were crossed, his eyebrows scrunched together, and his tail twitched behind him.

"No. I need more Camembert now. You had me transform you four times today. I'm tired." He drew out the last word in a whine that would rival a two-year-old's.

"I said no, Plagg. I'm not in the mood for your stinky cheese."

"Come on." He pouted, zipped over to my arm, and started tugging on the cuff of my sleeve. "You can ask that Gorilla or Nathalie to bring it to you."

"I think someone would notice that I'm asking for Camembert after being 'sick' all day. Especially since I'd be asking for food past eleven on a school night. When I should be sleeping. I don't need to raise alarms. Besides, I want to be alone right now, so just go to bed. I'll get you more cheese when I have breakfast."

"I'm not waiting," he squeaked in his raspy voice, "I'll just get some myself."

"Fine. Have fun." I waved him off and fell back onto my bed. My focus had to be on emptying out my mind enough to fall asleep. School was already going to be unbearable with Marinette there, I really needed to get some rest so I could survive it. I hid under my sheets, as if my problems weren't going to find me within my cotton fortress.

I heard a whoosh, but no more whining from Plagg. I had no clue what had gotten into him, but he couldn't possibly still be hungry after eating five times his weight in cheese, could he? I didn't tire him out _that_ much, did I? After about three minutes of tossing and turning I became nervous that I hadn't heard any further peeps from my kwami.

"Did he really go to the kitchen by himself?"

Throwing my covers off, I sprinted to the door and cracked it open.

"Plagg?" I whispered out into the hall, but there was no reply. I called his name out a little louder, but there was still nothing. Checking that no one was in the atrium, I slipped out of my room. Moving slowly, I padded my way to the kitchen, softly calling out Plagg's name as I went. He didn't respond. There was nothing but the muffled sound of my father finishing up a late business call.

At the foot of the stairs I sidled against the banister, and slinked around to the far wall. Keeping an eye on Father's office door, I crept towards the dining room. I made sure the doors were fully shut behind me before again calling out for Plagg in a stage whisper. There remained nothing in the stillness of the house. Cautiously backing away from the dining room doors, I headed towards the kitchen.

The soft clatter of things falling bled through the door as I neared it. I darted in and found Plagg knocking containers onto the floor while he searched the refrigerator for more cheese. An empty Camembert container was already discarded onto the tile.

"Plagg," I hissed, "that's enough. You're making a mess. It's late, I'm tired, I want to go to school tomorrow-"

"So you can see Marinette? The girl you may or may not confess to about spying on her?" There was a strange tone to Plagg's voice. It sounded hopeful, but also snarky and bitter.

"Why do you care? You've never shown an interest in my love life before."

Plagg went back to shoving things out of the refrigerator as he nibbled on scraps here and there. "Yeah, well, it got real interesting now."

"So glad my torment is such entertainment for you." I rolled my eyes and started scooping things off the floor.

He didn't respond. He found a small block of leftover cheddar and swallowed it whole. "No Camembert, but it's a start." He continued with his rummaging.

"Plagg, seriously, stop. You're making a mess."

He huffed and stared right at me as he knocked an entire row of premade parfaits off the shelf. Typical cat. The yogurt splattered everywhere, and my patience came to an abrupt end.

"What is wrong with you?" I shouted, no longer concerned about whether my father could hear me.

"Wrong with me? Have you heard yourself all night? All I wanted was some cheese."

"Why? Why do you need more to eat? You've had enough!"

Plagg's jaw locked up and he spilled a carton of eggs onto the tile.

"Okay, that's it! Plagg, claws out!"

Plagg didn't resist. He just huffed again, crossed his arms, and let the ring suck him into it. With a flash of green I was Chat Noir for the fifth time that day. Grumbling to myself, I cleaned up Plagg's mess as fast as I could. My heart thumped as I kept an ear out for anyone making their way to that part of the house. It would be hard to explain why Chat Noir was randomly wiping up the Agreste kitchen.

Once everything was back in the fridge, the dishes were washed, and the floor was mopped, I headed back to my room. I figured I needed a peace offering after basically putting Plagg into a time-out, so I scooped up some change, hopped out my bedroom window, and ran over to a twenty-four-hour grocery store. Thankfully, it was nearing midnight, so only the night clerk and a few night owl shoppers were in the store. I didn't have to suffer too many odd looks as I bought Camembert at such a late hour while still Chat Noir. For the ones that did see me, it would be something interesting for them to tell their friends at least: _"Did you know that one of Paris' guardian superheroes liked stinky cheese, and bought it around midnight? It was so surreal."_

Safely back in my room, I opened the wheel of cheese, and then depowered. Plagg spat back out of the ring, and landed on my sofa in front of me.

"Ugh! What was that? You know it drains me to power you up, even if you don't use Cataclysm."

"I know." I slid the Camembert over to him, "But I couldn't think of any other way of getting you to stop. What has gotten into you, Plagg? The overeating, the grumpiness, the destruction in the kitchen? That's not you. Something is up, and I want to know what."

Plagg downed the slice I offered him, scooped up a second wedge, and nuzzled it before gobbling that down too. "Nevermind. Just keep the Camembert coming and I'll behave myself. Besides, aren't you too worried about your Marinette is Ladybug situation to focus on anything else?"

There was a bite to his words. It irritated me that he couldn't just say what he wanted to say.

"Hey, I'm trying to deal with something major, and you're just obsessing over your stinky cheese. If there's something more going on you should tell me. You're my friend, and I can make time for you too if you need me."

Plagg huffed, turned his back to me, and downed another slice. I waited for a response, but all I got was the noisy slurp of Plagg inhaling more and more of the cheese. When he was about half way done I gave up. Sighing heavily through my nose, I stood up and started walking to my bed.

"Ya know what?" I grumbled, "Nevermind. Serves me right to think you'd have a serious conversation for once. I should know better by now."

There was a loud _glub_ as Plagg swallowed hard on the last of the cheese. It caught my attention because it was then that I realized he hadn't said anything at all. Even when he's eating, he usually had some sort of snarky response to my nagging. This time he was completely ignoring me. I looked over my shoulder, just before Plagg had a chance to turn from me. His eyes seemed extra green, like there was a sheen brightening them.

"Plagg, are- are you crying?" I walked back over and slid onto the couch beside him.

"Such a silly question." He blinked rapidly, clearing his eyes, before jerking his head away from me. "I may still be mad at you, but I don't cry. That's a silly human thing." He floated up from the couch and drifted over to my Foosball table. He started kicking the ball around the metal player figures.

"Come on, Plagg. I know something is wrong. You've been acting super weird all night, ever since I found out that Marinette is La-" I had my answer. I found out who Ladybug was because of the kwami Tikki. Plagg had seen her, and he had been acting up ever since.

"This is about Tikki, isn't it? Wow, I'm such a jerk! I've been so focused on my own mind being blown, it didn't occur to me how seeing another kwami might affect you. Are you sure you're okay, buddy?"

Plagg kicked the Foosball into one of the goals and floated up to land on the crossbar of a line of players. "I just haven't seen her in so long."

"You don't talk much about the other kwamis. Is Tikki the only one?"

Plagg's eyes darted all around me, like he was scanning to see if I was worthy of this knowledge. He became serious.

"There are many Miraculouses, and each one has a kwami to power it up and to protect the Chosen One. Even Hawk Moth has one. Tikki, though..." He rubbed the back of his head, and his cat ears bent sorrowfully back. "She's different. She's special among the other kwamis."

There was a hint of wistfulness as he looked out my bedroom window. His voice was subtly warm, and a sad smile gently spread across his lips. Plagg also had a strange longing in his voice when he first saw Ladybug's kwami.

"Whoa! Are- are you and Tikki- Like, together?"

"What?" Plagg perked an eyebrow at me for a second. Then the meaning of my stumbled question finally occurred to him. His ears and tail perked up in alarm, and his eyes widened as he bolted off the crossbar of the Foosball table. "No! Wow! No!" He stuck out his tongue and made a gagging sound. "No, I don't have feelings like love, unless I'm talking about cheese! Gross! No, Tikki's special because, well, she's- I guess you'd call her my sister."

"Sister?" I struggled to not scream the word. It seemed so weird, picturing Plagg and Tikki as kids with a mother. Did they have a mother? Were they ever kids? It didn't look like they aged at all. I had assumed that they just sort of 'were'. I hadn't thought of them having families.

"Well," Plagg drew out the word as he scrunched up his face in contemplation. "We're not siblings the same way humans or even animals are. We were birthed from prehistoric magic, and we were each tied to a Miraculous by mystics eons ago. The Miraculouses for Tikki and I were created at the same time, so I guess you could even consider us twins."

My head felt like it was about to explode. "I need to lay down." I stumbled over to my bed and collapsed onto it. Plagg quickly followed me over and landed on the pillow beside me.

"Tikki and I are kind of two sides of the same coin. We balance each other out, sort of a Yin and Yang situation."

I thought back to Marinette's sundress. It wasn't just a Chat Noir theme along the top half and Ladybug theme along the bottom, there was a curvature to the break. It looked like part of a yin-yang symbol. Had she always known?

"Together," Plagg continued, "we are creation and destruction; good and bad luck;

optimism and realism; drive and laziness; order and chaos; boring and fun." He winked at the implication.

"Now I'm even more confused. If Tikki means that much to you, then why wouldn't you want to help me figure out who Ladybug was? Wouldn't you want us to find each other as soon as possible? That way you and Tikki could be reunited?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I remember yelling at you for closing that closet door while Ladybug was de-powering. You could have known it was Marinette months ago." He shrugged.

"Yeah, but you never actually actively tried to help me figure out who it is. In fact, you teased me about trying to find her."

Plagg shrugged and shook his head. "It didn't really matter to me. There was a Ladybug still in the world, so obviously that meant Tikki was fine. That's all that really mattered. As long as I knew Tikki was alright I didn't need to see her. I mean, you and your dad don't really hang out much."

My chest tightened and I rolled away from Plagg. "Yeah, but I wish we could hang out more. I thought you knew how much I wish my father would spend time with me. How important it is to me to be able to see family."

"Sorry. You're right. I do know." He placed a paw on my temple to let me know that he was there, should I need it. "I'm just saying, that just because you don't see each other all the time doesn't make you any less family. I would like to talk to Tikki, sure, but-" He let the sentence die and the silence hang painfully in the air. "You didn't pick up any more Camembert, did you?"

"We're having a serious discussion and you want to stop to eat even _more_ Camembert?" I sat up and shook my head at him.

"There's no such thing as too much Camembert." The purr he normally had when he talked about his favorite cheese was back, but there was also a sense of sorrow and need.

"Plagg, why are you so obsessed with Camembert tonight?" I cocked an eyebrow and stared him down.

"I'm always obsessed. I don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing unusual about me wanting Camembert." He rambled off his response and avoided my glare by darting his eyes. Finally, he turned away from me so I couldn't read his expression.

"You eat when you miss Tikki, don't you?"

"Pfft," was his only response. I slowly reached my hands out, scooped him out of the air, and pulled him in to a nuzzle.

"Gah!" He shoved my chin away and tried to scurry out of my cradling hands. "What do you think you're doing?"

"It hurts me that I don't see my father as often as I would like. I'm sure you have the same pain about Tikki, and that it was a hard decision for the two of you to stay a secret. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but you have me, buddy."

"Alright, thanks. Can you stop with the mushiness now?" He phased through my hand and zipped to the other side of the room so I couldn't capture him again.

I chuckled for the first time that day, feeling the stress start to melt off. Then it smacked me across the face again.

"I'm going to have to face Marinette tomorrow. I still have no clue what I'm going to do about it. And you still won't be able to hang out with Tikki without Marinette knowing I'm Chat Noir. I don't know if I could ever let her know. I can't chance losing her as a partner _and_ a friend. But I also can't keep you and Tikki apart. What do I do?"

"You can start by not worrying about me. I'm fine. I know where she is, and Marinette seems like a cool girl. I'm sure Tikki is happy. Next, you can at least pretend to be happy that you know who your Ladybug is. You can start wooing Marinette as Adrien. You're a model, it shouldn't be too hard. Then you can still have your lady love. You can decide from there if you want to tell her everything."

I shifted so I could see the hiding place for the unsigned valentine. The new hiding place for the charm Marinette had given to me. It seemed fitting that they were tucked together.

"Yeah, I guess." I pulled one of my pillows to my chest and hugged it tight. My mind whirled around the idea of seeing Marinette at school the next day. I had no clue what I was going to do, or what I was going to say. I was excited to know my Ladybug was going to be right behind me in class, and that she wanted to gift me lunch. I dreaded the idea that she would be so close, and still had faith in me; not knowing better.

I couldn't wait to get to school. I was terrified to go.

I walked over to my hiding spot and gingerly pulled the bracelet out. Shuffling back to bed, I wrapped myself inside my sheets. The charm clenched in my fist and pressed against my chest.

Ladybug was Marinette. Marinette was Ladybug. This was terrible, but it was also amazing.

* * *

 ****A/N:** **I know most people ship Plagg and Tikki, and in truth, I do too. However, having the kwamis be soulmates tends to complicate the love square: does Adrien and Marinette only love each other because of the influence of their kwamis? I've seen other authors write fanfics based off that question, and they are amazing. However, that's not THIS story. I didn't want to complicate things even more for poor Adrien.**

 **Plus, a lot of the evidence points away from a romantic connection. Mostly, there's the fact that Plagg calls Adrien gross every time the kid goes on and on about his love for Ladybug. It reminds me of a five-year-old listening to his older sibling talking about his girlfriend. Secondly, neither Tikki nor Plagg seem to pine for the other. They don't even speak of each other. Finally, in "Dark Owl" when they do finally see each other, neither race to the other to rejoice in finally finding them. Instead, Tikki shushes Plagg and then feeds him. It feels more like a maternal or sisterly act more than one of a lover.**

 **Let me know your thoughts on the matter. Until next Friday!****


	13. Decision

****A/N: OMG, I am SOOOO sorry this chapter is late (I know, for most of you "a few hours" is not "late" and I thank you for thinking so). I just couldn't get it to work for me.** **I FINALLY got this draft where I wanted it to be after listening to "The Umbrella Scene" on repeat for like 3hrs straight. I listened to this cover by** **DavidRussell323** **:** **"In the Rain" (Piano / Orchestral cover) on Youtube (sorry, you'll have to look it up; can't leave a link)** ******

* * *

 **CHAPTER 13: DECISION**

"Yo! Earth to Adrien!"

I snapped alert and frantically looked around me. Students buzzed past in the school courtyard. They rarely paid me any attention anymore, until the newest ad comes out, that is. By my left shoulder Nino was waving at my face to refocus me.

"Nino?"

"'Bout time you noticed me, dude. I've only called your name like three times since you got out of your car." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me in close so I could hear him talking low. "For reals, though, you still seem really zoned. Ya sure you're well enough for class already? Your sentry made it sound like you were on death's door yesterday."

"My... sentry?" I blinked at him, but almost as soon as I asked the question I figured out the answer. "Oh! Nathalie! Yeah, sorry. I guess she got a bit protective. I'm fine. Really. I just have a lot going on, and I guess I got overwhelmed. Thankfully, all I needed was a day to rest. In truth, I'm happy to be back here. I couldn't spend another day cooped up in that room, especially when I could be here hanging out with you." I gave him a smile to try to prove to both of us that I was fine.

"Well, in that case, I'm glad you're feeling better. Welcome back, bro." He unstrung his arm from around me and held out his fist. I tapped it with my own.

"So, you stopped by yesterday?" I instantly felt my face grow warm as I pictured him and the girls at my front gate trying to deliver Marinette's soup. I pivoted my head to try to hide the blush.

"Yeah. Marinette had made you some soup to try to help you recover, so she, Alya, and I went over during lunch. Your dad's assistant said you weren't up for food, though, and shooed us away."

I nibbled the corner of my lip to try to stop myself from ridiculously grinning at the thought of them trying to make me feel better. I never imagined I could have such great friends. I was also still wrapping my mind around the fact that Marinette making me soup meant that _Ladybug_ had done something to try to help me recover.

"Sorry about that. It was sweet of you guys, but I did tell Nathalie that I wasn't feeling all that hungry yesterday. I think all I had all day was a bowl of chicken noodle."

"If you were going to eat soup anyway you could have had Marinette's." Nino chuckled and playfully punched my shoulder.

I laughed back, but a pain shot through my chest. He was right, and I hated that I missed out. Even worse, I hated that it had upset Marinette, even temporarily.

"Well, look who's feeling better." Alya was the first one to notice me step through the classroom door. As she announced my return, she not-so-subtly nudged Marinette. I caught only a brief glance at my raven-haired crush, but it was enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck prick up, and my heart run a half-marathon. My eyes darted down to the desk Nino and I shared; trying to block Marinette from view as much as possible as I made my way to my seat.

I skirted my desk, and tried to forget that Marinette sat behind me every school day. My Ladybug had been behind me that whole time. She had always been _right there_. I _knew_ we knew each other outside our masks!

My throat tightened and I tried not to cough on the lump trapped behind my adam's apple. I was still unsure as to what to do with my knowledge that _Marinette_ was Ladybug. All I knew was that my lungs burned for air, but refused to gather more in.

"Adrikins!"

What little air I could capture within my paralyzed lungs was knocked out by a tackling hug from Chloé. She pinned my arms to my side and nearly bent me in half as she leapt onto my back. Before I could catch my barrings, she spun me around and again pinned me within a bear hug. She nuzzled my chest as she squeezed me tight. My arms were just free enough to placidly pat her on the waist to try to calm her.

It didn't work.

"Hey, Chloé," I coughed out through my limited breath.

"I'm so glad you're feeling better!" Chloé squeaked before blathering on about how worried she was for me. I didn't really pay any attention to her, though. Instead, I caught Marinette stiffening at her seat as her nails dug into the desk. Alya was by her best friend's side, tapping her shoulder to try to calm her down. It wasn't helping much.

"Chloé," Marinette snarled. She then stuck up her nose and snobbishly continued, as if she were imitating Chloé, "do you really think it's wise to hug Adrien like that? What if he's contagious? You might get sick next." She smirked, and I wasn't sure if she did so because she thought she came up with the perfect excuse to get Chloé off me, or because she liked the idea of Chloé having a sick day.

"It'd be worth it if they were Adrien's germs," Chloé cooed back. She then stared up at me with pleading eyes. "Besides, you'd nurse me back to health, wouldn't you, Adrikins?" She batted her eyelashes. I couldn't be positive, but I thought I heard Marinette softly growl.

I leaned away from Chloé, trying to wiggle out of her grip. "I, uh-"

"Alright, Chloé, that is quite enough." Miss Bustier walked into the classroom and stopped beside me. "Please allow Adrien his personal space, and go take your seat."

The class giggled as Chloé abruptly disengaged and huffed over to her seat on the other side of the aisle. I released a small sigh of relief before sliding onto the classroom bench beside Nino.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Adrien," Miss Bustier continued as she walked over to her own desk and set up her paperwork for the day. I quietly thanked her before slouching in my chair, already worn out from the attention my return from a sick day garnished.

"Say something." Alya's voice shot into my back.

"Alya, no, shhh," Marinette whispered back.

I looked back at Alya, slightly shrugging both my shoulders and my eyebrows. Giving me a half-smile in response, Alya casually folded her arms on the desk in front of her. She then thumbed over to her best friend.

"Marinette has something she'd like to say to you," she loudly whispered.

"Alya!" Marinette squeaked.

I shifted in my seat in order to look over my other shoulder; resting my elbow on the back of the bench.

Marinette awkwardly laughed and slowly raised her hand about chin-height before wiggling her fingers in a sheepish wave. Her smile was awkwardly plastered on, and a bit crookedly at that. She mouthed the word 'hi' but I didn't hear her say it. She jolted slightly as Alya elbowed her, and she cleared her throat.

"I'm glad you're feeling better." Her voice barely made it to my ears. She gripped her purse strap tightly within both hands, and her cheeks pinked.

My heart stopped. I felt my own face heat up, so I croaked 'thanks' before whipping back around to stare at the chalkboard. My tongue tasted like it was wrapped in cotton.

"Dude," Nino whispered at me, "ya sure you're okay? You're starting to get a little red. Ya got a fever?"

I had no clue how to explain that I was now seriously crushing on Marinette, and that the rosiness of her cheeks reminded me of her Ladybug mask. Even if I just left it at "I think I love Marinette" I would get an endless string of questions from him, and then from Alya via him. I didn't have the energy to go into it all. Especially in the middle of class.

Using the back of my hand, I wiped my brow and shook my head. Thankfully, being a model means knowing how to plaster on a believable smile, so I did.

"Nah, I'm fine, Nino. Thanks for worrying about me. I'm probably just flustered from everyone making such a big deal. I was only out one day." My voice reached its limit of me holding my composure, so I cleared my throat and nodded over towards Miss Bustier. "Should probably pay attention though. I am a day behind now."

I then focused on the chalkboard, and I wouldn't let anything distract me. Or, at least I made it look like that was the case. Every five minutes or so I was again struck with the realization that Ladybug was unmasked and sitting right behind me. She had always been right behind me. I saw her nearly every day. I had asked her for her autograph on the Jagged Stone CD cover she designed. She had made cloth dolls of us and three of the villains we had defeated. I had attempted to set Nino up with her, and even coached him how to tell her he-

I watched Nino out of the corner of my eye. Before he and Alya became a thing, he had told me he was crushing on Marinette. He didn't know how to tell her, so I offered to coach him through his date via an earpiece. When I felt it was time for him to confess, I had told him to say "I love you, Marinette." He chickened out and claimed to like Alya instead. He and Alya had been dating ever since, and it was the perfect match. They were adorable together. But it was completely out of the blue.

So, was he ever in love with Marinette? It's hard to believe that he was. Knowing now how _I_ felt about her, there was no way Nino could have gotten over her, and then fell for Alya in the same day. Not if he was in love with her.

Then why did I think Nino was in love with Marinette in the first place? Did he ever actually tell me he was in love? Did I just assume he loved her simply because he had a crush on her? Or-

I felt hot all over again. Had part of me known, even back then, that Marinette was Ladybug? Or had I been ignoring my crush on Marinette for that long? Why did I tell Nino to say "I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you that I love you, Marinette"? Was _I_ subconsciously trying to tell her?

After my talk with Plagg the night before, I had come to terms with the fact that I had grown a crush on Marinette while I was watching her. I even accepted the possibility that I had a crush before then, which was why I became so panicked when I thought she was in trouble. This was a whole new level, though. Was I really so blind to my own crush on Marinette that I would unknowingly attempt to use my best friend as a mouthpiece to tell her? How deep did it go? How long had I liked Marinette?

" _First day of school and we already have two lovebirds."_

I had denied Plagg's teasing, but was he right? Had I liked Marinette since then? I had just thought the elation I felt was because, thanks to Nino, I was now up to two new friends. She had forgiven me, and we made each other laugh. Doesn't that make everyone's heart quicken? Doesn't that erase everyone else's stress, even for a little bit? Sure, it was a different sensation than when Nino offered to be my new friend, but he also didn't hate me before.

Had I loved both sides of Marinette practically since the day I met her? Was I wrong to ever think I only liked her because of the Ladybug-half?

What was it about Ladybug that I loved? Her courage. Her kindness. Her sense of justice. Her brilliance. Her skill. Her desire to see the good in everyone. I had seen that all in Marinette. I had always seen it in Marinette, but it was so rare, so hidden, that I had never thought to attach those words to her before. It made sense that I knew I was in love with Ladybug, but couldn't figure it out when it came to Marinette.

Ladybug and I fought akumas together. We built up a bond. A trust. We were as open with each other as we could be while still hiding our identities. As Ladybug, Marinette was confident enough to really talk to me without her shyness getting in the way, even if I was simply Adrien at the time. I was able to get close to her.

And now she was right behind me, and I wanted to tell her everything, but I didn't know how. I didn't even have the time to. I silently prayed that Miss Bustier would tell us to split up into groups. I needed an excuse to turn around and just look at Marinette. I had found my Ladybug after months of searching for her, and I couldn't imagine anyone else I would have wanted it to be.

I tucked my hand into my pocket and traced my fingers over the edges of each bead on my lucky charm. It really did bring me the best luck. It brought me to the realization that mask or not, I was in love with Marinette. I still had no clue what to do with that information, though. The charm's luck fell short of miracles.

Never before had I wanted an akuma to attack. I would never wish that on anyone, but I needed to talk to Ladybug. I needed to talk to Marinette. I needed out of that classroom. I needed to be Chat Noir. I needed a few minutes.

The bell rang to mark the time; causing me to jump.

"Enjoy your lunch, everyone. We'll start our review of three-variable algebraic equations when you return." Miss Bustier gathered up her notes and tapped them into straight edges against her desk.

My body was sore from forcing it to stay frozen in an alert posture for hours. I instantly melted in my seat now that I didn't need to stay focused. Resting my head back against Marinette's desk, I was only vaguely aware of whispering around me, but one voice in particular rang through.

"A-Adrien?"

I bolted upright, and nearly leapt out of my seat. It was like my first day of school all over again, when I shot up to announce that I was present during roll call. I was unnaturally at attention, and far too intensely staring at Marinette, making her blush and break eye contact. I felt like such an idiot, but it was kind of worth it to see her adorable bashfulness.

Ladybug - _Ladybug_ \- was nervous around _me_.

"Yes, Marinette?" My voice was so tight, and much louder than called for. I hated that it was so abrupt that it startled her.

Hiding behind a paper bag, she bowed slightly and thrust the bag out towards me; keeping her eyes fixated on her feet. There was a soft rustling of the bag as her hands shook on either side of it. She hooked her right foot around the heel of her left one, and she nervously rubbed the back of her ankle. My heart swelled and I wanted to pull her into me.

It kept a painfully long minute, but Marinette found her voice. "You're not as good since the soup was yesterday. I mean, the soup isn't as good since I made it yesterday! But, uh, I- I mean _we_ made you some soup to, ya know, m-make you feel better?"

"Don't be so modest," Alya playfully chided. "We were barely sous-chefs. I think I chopped some vegetables with Nino. Marinette was the one who actually made the soup. It was also her idea to make it for you."

"Alya!" Marinette whimpered. She still hadn't looked at me. She was too busy memorizing the color of her shoes. She didn't see me reach out for the bag. I hadn't said anything, and so she must have thought I didn't want it. As my hand brushed the paper, she yanked the bag back against her chest; hugging it tightly.

"N-nevermind. It's silly. You have professional chefs; I'm sure you can have much better than my soup."

"Marinette." Alya wrapped an arm around her best friend's shoulder as she soothingly said her name with a sad comfort behind it.

My heart raced with the same terrifying, excitement-fueled, adrenaline rush I got my first day as Chat Noir. I had no clue what I was doing, I only had faint ideas from what I gathered out of movies and comic books. I could easily get hurt, but I could also be free and happy. Just like then, I pushed away the fear.

I placed my hands on Marinette's forearms and gently squeezed to get her attention. Her eyes snapped to me like magnets clicking together.

"Thank you, Marinette. It was really sweet of you to think of me like that. I would be honored to have your soup for lunch. I'm sure it's exactly the pick-me-up I'll need for the second half of the day."

Thank the heavens, my voice was steady that time. It was smooth, and true, and soft, and filled with my honest appreciation and humility. We were just friends, but Marinette still put in so much effort to make sure I was going to be alright. How could I not be humbled by such a kind heart?

We hadn't moved. We just stared. She still hugged the bag close to her chest, and my hands remained resting on her arms, trying to coax her to open up. Alya and Nino were beginning to look at us strangely. I was nervous that the whole standstill was because Marinette was getting weirded out by my touch, so I quickly shifted my hands to the bag and gently tugged on it.

The spell broken, Marinette giggled, but it wasn't the sincere one I had heard over the course of the past week. It was her brief, nervous giggle I had heard nearly every other day. I yearned to hear the other laugh, the one filled with hope and joy.

"I, uh, I hope you like it," she nervously mumbled. "I don't know if it's as good as when my great-uncle showed me how to make it, in fact, I'm sure it isn't, but-"

I interrupted her with the crinkling of the bag as I opened it up to pull the thermos out. It was chrome with a pink lid and butterflies stuck along the base. She squeaked as I undid the lid.

"I'm sorry about the thermos. It's the only one I have. And don't try it now! It's cold. I'm sure it's already bad, but trying it cold would obviously be worse-" she rambled, ignoring Alya and Nino giving each other knowing glances and softly shaking their heads.

I stuck a finger into the cold soup, pulled it back out, and licked the liquid off the tip. She was right. It wasn't as good as her great-uncle's soup. He was a master. It probably would be better warm, as well. However, it was still absolutely delicious, and it was made with such intended care. It was probably one of the best soups I've ever tasted.

"I get why Cheng Shifu renamed his Celestial Soup after you, Marinette. It wasn't just to bestow you honor for standing beside him. It was because-" I froze. What was I doing? What was I saying? Marinette, Alya, and Nino were all staring at me, wondering how I was planning on finishing the sentence. Marinette's hands were folded and huddled close to her chin. Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was slightly parted. Waiting for me to finish my thought. But the only thought I had left was how much I wanted to kiss those lips.

Panicked, I started coughing, scooped up my things, and the resealed thermos in a fury. "Sorry," I choked out between my fake coughs. "I should go eat this and rest up for the rest of the school day."

Before anyone could react, I sprinted out the door and down to the school's courtyard.

" _Seriously?"_ Plagg poked his head out from behind my white cover shirt, pressing against the thermos I had clenched in my arms. "Is this going to be a thing with you now, lover boy? Panicked freak outs and sprinting away? I thought you were going to try to win her over as Adrien so you two could date."

"I- I haven't decided what I'm doing yet. It's complicated, Plagg. I mean, she's Marinette. She's just a friend."

"Yeah, you've said that before." Plagg sarcastically replied.

"Well, she is! One of my best friends. I can't screw this up." I felt my face burn and I quickened my step as I made my way to my father's town car.

"So that means you're _not_ telling her you've been spying."

"It means I have to be careful, Plagg" I whispered as I got closer to the car. "Ladybug is constantly pushing Chat Noir away. It's obvious that we're just friends. Both Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Marinette and Adrien. I don't want to ruin anything."

"That's why you woo her, Romeo. Besides," he tapped on the thermos with his foot, "ya sure she's just a friend?" He cocked an eyebrow at me before hiding again behind my shirt.

The Gorilla had the back door of the car open, and I quietly slid in. As he drove us home I pressed the bagged thermos against my chest. We were friends. I knew Marinette and I were just friends. Her being Ladybug complicated things, but I thought I knew where we stood. Even so, I felt a goofy grin stretch across my face despite myself.

I had found Ladybug. I had loved her since the beginning. And we were friends. Both our superhero and civilian sides were friends.

Like Plagg said, I could always try to woo Marinette, and see if we could ever be more than friends. I couldn't woo her as Adrien though. Not yet. Not when I knew Ladybug didn't think of Chat Noir romantically. None of it would matter if she couldn't love me for my Chat Noir side. My spontaneous, flirty, over-the-top, playful side.

I had to find a way to get her to love Chat Noir, only then would I feel comfortable enough to confess as Adrien. Confess everything: my love for her, that I was spying, and that I knew who she was. I couldn't say anything before then, and chance ruining our friendship if she wasn't going to love me; all of me.

I hoped she could.

* * *

 ****A/N: Adrien "Just Friends" Agreste strikes again EVEN AFTER FIGURING OUT THAT HE LOVES HER! Oh, this poor boy...**

 **On a more serious note, I just wanted to point out something in regards to my late update today. I wrote, and re-wrote, and re-re-wrote this dang chapter I don't even know how many times anymore. Nothing seemed right. I was banging my head against the wall. Then. Suddenly. It just sort of clicked. All the different drafts had a unique gemstone I could grab** **(along with some scraps from the third draft of the next chapter...)** **, and they combined to the above chapter.**

 **So, for all of you writers out there who feel like you suck because your first draft is trash, remember that your favorite authors go through TONS of re-writes/re-works/false-starts before getting to the finished product you love. Keep at it!**

 **Until next Friday (only 2 more to go! 0_0 )****


	14. Announcement

****A/N: Sorry for the delay of this chapter. I hope everyone finds the wait worth it. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who left me a review or sent me a PM to wish me well and assure me that you'll be patient. You all absolutely rock!****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 14: ANNOUNCEMENT**

"Welcome home, Adrien." Nathalie greeted me at the main doors and escorted me into the dining room. A cheese platter garnished with red grapes rested on the corner of the table, next to a plate with a turkey and baby spinach sandwich. I hugged the bagged thermos Marinette gave me closer to my chest.

"Nathalie?" I was almost afraid to offer her the bag; afraid she'd just throw it away. "Could I have this heated up too?" I gingerly pulled out the thermos, and held it out for her to take. "My friends made it for me to help me recover from being sick yesterday. I would really like to have it for lunch."

Nathalie remained tight-lipped and her posture perfect as she watched me. Her eyes studied me for a moment before she gave a simple, small nod.

"Alright, Adrien. Please get started on the rest of your meal while I have this warmed."

"Thank you, Nathalie."

She returned a few minutes later. Plagg had devoured a decent amount of the cheese platter, but I barely had any of my sandwich. I had no appetite for it. The turkey seemed dry, the spinach bland, and the bread tough.

The soup was fantastic though. Nathalie made sure it wasn't too hot, so the comforting warmth slid down my throat and gently settled in my stomach. Right away I was soothed by the faint scent of lavender. It was coupled with the earthy flavor of the pumpkin base; keeping everything grounded and comforting. While the pumpkin texture was thick and creamy, the soup wasn't heavy. It was almost airy; making me crave more once I had drained my bowl. I was surprised that a creamy lavender soup didn't lull me to sleep, but Marinette's peppering was just spicy enough to wake me up without being overpowering. Same went with the sweet aftertaste. She had a skilled hand at seasoning; probably thanks to her parents' teachings.

I knew how I wanted to complete my earlier sentence now.

Cheng Shifu didn't rename his soup simply to bestow honor on Marinette for standing beside him. It was because both the soup and Marinette were the same. They both brought comfort, warmth, and healing with their gentle sweetness. Both had a surprising amount of spice, and were shockingly grounded for how light they were. For the soup to be made right, care, compassion, and love had to be poured into it; all things Marinette did with everything she touched. The flavor was distinct, but also gentle to avoid overwhelming even something as delicate as the flower Cheng Shifu decorated his soup with. Marinette was the same way: distinct in who she is, but also gentle to avoid overwhelming those around her.

Celestial Soup became Marinette Soup because Cheng Shifu, upon meeting her, realized that his soup was just the personification of his great-niece. At least, that was what I thought. If it were me, that would be why I would have renamed my famous soup.

Could I say any of that to Marinette, though? It felt like all the things I've always wanted to say to Ladybug. Now that I knew who she was behind the mask, would I be able to follow through? Would she even want to hear it?

Ladybug made it obvious that she wasn't interested in Chat Noir being anything other than her partner, so what hope did I have that Marinette would feel any differently towards her friend Adrien? Worse yet, what if I could woo her as Adrien, like Plagg suggested? What then? It would still only be half of me. The refined version of me Father allows out in the world. Could I ever be my Chat Noir half around her?

What if Ladybug always rejected me because she can't stand the goofy, flirty, playful, pun-loving, impulsive half of me? Could I be in a relationship with a girl who made me want to be all those things, and yet keep it all hidden? What kind of life would that be? Would I end up becoming my father?

I shuddered at the prospect and gathered my things to head back to school.

No. A relationship with Marinette would never work if I could only get her to love Adrien. She needed to love Chat Noir as well. How could she, though?

Chat Noir was a pathetic partner. He was a creepasaurus who liked to spy through his classmate's window. He was a liability with the amount of times he got overpowered by akuma supervillains. He was a flirt and a showoff. There was no way Marinette would fall for that.

Worst yet was that Chat Noir was also a cheat; finding out who Ladybug truly was. Once I confessed to that it would be all over. I knew she wouldn't want anything to do with me.

I let out a long, throaty groan that garnered a glance in the rear-view mirror from The Gorilla.

All the comfort the Marinette Soup had given me evaporated as I made my way back to the classroom. Marinette would be in that room. The love of my life would be right there, and I _still_ couldn't do anything about it. I still couldn't hold her, take her hand, or kiss her.

I sat down in my seat and smacked my head against my desk.

"Whoa! Adrien! You alright, dude?" Nino slid close to wrap his arm around my shoulders.

I muttered back a 'yeah' while keeping my face firmly planted against the wood.

"Ya sure? Because you don't look so hot. Something happen with your old man?"

I rocked my head 'no' without lifting it off my desk.

"Are you feeling sick again?"

In truth, I kind of was. Sick of myself. Sick of the predicament I had gotten myself into. Sick of having to stay arms-length away from the girl of my dreams. Sick of secrets. Sick of being a pathetic hero.

I simply moaned as a response.

"Nino!" Alya called out as she ran into the room. "What did you think of- Whoa, Adrien, are you alright?"

I again moaned.

"It wasn't Marinette's soup, was it?"

I bolted upright.

"No! No, the soup you guys made me was amazing. No, it's just-" I sighed as I rested my head back on my desk.

"I think he's still recovering," Nino supplemented.

Alya watched me for a minute. Probably trying to figure out if she should probe further. Marinette walked into the classroom behind her, which pulled her attention from me.

"Good, you're here too! Can someone _please_ tell me what they thought about my latest video?"

"Video? Oh! Was that what my notification was for?" Nino dug his phone out of his pocket. "Sorry, I got distracted by sicko over here."

"Well, quick, check this out! I'm about to burst!" Alya brought up a video she posted on her Ladyblog.

I leaned in to see the phone. She only posted videos on her blog if she came up with a new theory or if she videotaped Ladybug in action. I hadn't missed an akuma attack, did I?

"Hey, peeps!" Alya had recorded herself inside a fancy, but empty, conference room. There wasn't any destruction, and while Alya sounded excited, it wasn't the same adrenaline-rush tone she got whenever she taped Ladybug fighting someone. I hoped that meant she didn't tape an attack. "It's Alya," the recording continued, " from the one and only Ladyblog, and boy do I have some exciting news for you. I'm currently sitting with _the_ Ladybug right now! She has a very special announcement she would like to share with everyone. Ladybug?"

I had to fight back the urge to grab for Alya's phone and hold it so only I could watch. Ladybug was in that room. Marinette was in that room. Alya didn't realize her best friend was in that room, and Ladybug had an announcement to give. I was nervous that it was something bad about me; about my spying or my pathetic performance against Terravenger the day before. Was she going to use the blog to renounce Chat Noir? No! Marinette would never do that. Ladybug would never do that. Maribug would never do that...

"Hello, Paris," Ladybug sat properly, with her legs crossed at her knees and her hands folded on her lap. She spoke calmly and had a hint of a smile. She looked like she had done formal public addresses her whole life. Perfect for a class representative. "As you well know, I'm Ladybug, but what you probably don't know is how I became Ladybug. Or, rather, why I decided to be Ladybug. I have to say that it is largely because of Alya here-"

Off camera, Alya stifled a squeal.

"-and just as largely because of Chat Noir. I think it's important that all of Paris knows how the two of us met."

I gulped and hoped it wasn't loud enough for my friends to hear. My eyes drifted upward, and caught Marinette awkwardly shifting her weight. I wondered if she was scratching the back of her ankle with the top of her other foot, just like when she was giving me the soup. She pretended to watch the video too, but her eyes never seemed to land on the phone. They seemed to dart all over the surface of Nino's and my desk instead. As she wrung her fingers I desperately wanted to take her hands in mine so I could try to calm her.

I don't know how well that would have worked, though. I was having a mild panic attack myself.

"It all started the day Stoneheart first attacked Paris," Ladybug had continued on the video. "While there has always been a Ladybug in the world, that was my first day as the Ladybug you know. I had no clue what I was doing. I didn't even believe I was cut out to be a superhero. I was this goofy, dorky, clumsy girl. I wasn't heroic. I wasn't athletic. I didn't know how to fight. Yet I was picked, so I tried my best."

I choked down my voice to stop myself from yelling that she was wrong. Marinette was always the perfect fit for Ladybug, and I hoped she thought differently about herself now. If she still thought she was just that goofy, dorky, clumsy girl who wasn't heroic, athletic, or a fighter, I would have to prove her wrong.

"As I tried using my magical yo-yo for the first time, I awkwardly shot myself through the air. I fell from the sky and ended up landing into Chat Noir, who was walking between two buildings via his stick. Thankfully, some of my luck kicked in, and while my yo-yo tangled the two of us together, it also snagged on his stick, and stopped us from landing on the street. We awkwardly hung there for a couple of seconds, and do you know what he said to me? 'Nice of you to drop in.'" Ladybug's smile grew for a second as she enjoyed a silent chuckle. She then shook her head at my bad pun, as she always does.

"I crashed into him, knocked him off a three-story building, nearly splatted him on the street, and entangled him in my yo-yo, but he wasn't mad. He was friendly from the second we met as he greeted me with a pathetic little joke."

I remembered that moment. I had been practicing my enhanced balance as Chat Noir by using my baton as a tightrope. There was a scream coming from above me, somehow, so I looked and saw this thin girl with pigtails flailing as she fell from the sky. I reached out to catch her, only for us to get wound together in her yo-yo's string, and then we swung to the side; ending up hanging upside down. She looked so embarrassed, how could I have ever been mad? It was clearly an accident.

I didn't realize Ladybug had remembered our first encounter so vividly.

"Chat Noir got untangled shortly after," Ladybug had continued, "and introduced himself before asking my name. The thing is, my focus was a bit split between him and my attempt to untangle my yo-yo from his stick. I was pulling pretty hard, but I wasn't making any progress. Then, suddenly, his stick shrank to its normal size. I wasn't expecting it, so I ended up pulling it down with my full force. Right onto Chat Noir's head. I had just met my superhero partner, and I conk him in the head with his own stick! It must have really hurt too, the way he was rubbing his head and gritting his teeth."

It _had_ really hurt. My baton is pretty solid, it's metal, and Ladybug is strong! Thankfully, I heal pretty quickly as Chat Noir, so the pain had only lasted a couple of seconds.

"Even after hurting him, he simply picked his stick up and told me not to worry about anything. He was new to the superhero thing too, and was still learning the ropes himself. It was hard for me to believe, though. He was just walking across his stick like a tight rope between two buildings, got untangled from my yo-yo string fairly quickly, and instantly knew I was supposed to be his partner. He was clearly better trained, or at least more prepared, to be a superhero than I was. And yet he treated me like we were equal, like we were on even footing. I was this complete goof and failure at being Ladybug, but he just trusted that I'd get better. He didn't judge me at all."

My eyes fogged over. I got light headed and woozy. All this time I was grateful to Ladybug for treating me like an equal when clearly she was the superior superhero, and she thought the same thing about me?

"Then there was a crash." Ladybug had shifted in her chair. She wasn't as prim and proper anymore as she told her tale. Her legs were uncrossed and she had leaned forward onto her elbows a bit. "One of the skyscrapers had fallen thanks to Stoneheart. I was terrified about having to fight him, but Chat Noir instantly extended his stick so he could pole-vault to the nearest rooftop. When I asked him where he was going, Chat Noir said 'To save Paris' like it was just an everyday thing, like he was telling me he was going to the store or school or work. Then he was gone. Off to fight a supervillain.

"I struggled to keep up as we raced to the stadium where a bunch of high school students were having gym class. Alya, you were one of the students there." Ladybug gestured to her friend behind the camera before addressing the viewers again. "When I arrived Chat Noir had already swooped in to save a boy from Stoneheart. He didn't hesitate. He jumped into the fray and fought this massive rock being one-on-one. Meanwhile, I was frozen on the top of the stadium. I couldn't imagine being able to battle something so scary. I didn't think I could ever be as brave as Chat Noir."

I choked on my heart. I wasn't the brave one. I was the headstrong one. I was the impulsive one. Ladybug was the brave one. Did she really see me like this? I studied Marinette. Her cheeks were rosy, and I could tell she was trying to find a way to sneak to her seat without offending Alya. My chest hurt with each breath I took.

"While Chat Noir was struggling against Stoneheart," the video rolled on, "he called out to me; he asked where I was. There was strain in his voice, like he was worried that he couldn't handle Stoneheart alone, but he _still_ didn't sound angry. He wasn't accusing me of anything. He wasn't scolding me. He was just hoping for backup.

"Then Stoneheart picked up one of the football nets and tossed it at Chat Noir."

"Yeah," Alya chimed in from behind the camera, "I remember. Chat Noir had dodged the net, but-"

"But that meant it came straight at you," Ladybug finished. "I was frozen on the top of that stadium, and Chat was battling Stoneheart. Yet it was Chat Noir who thought fast enough to throw his stick in the way. The net bounced off and landed in front of you, keeping you safe. It was a truly heroic move, and he did it almost on instinct. He didn't even think about the fact that he was now defenseless, and he got captured because of that. Instead, he thought about your safety over his own. That's the mind of a true hero.

"I only reacted finally when you called out to me: 'What are you waiting for, super red bug? The world is watching you.' That was when I snapped out of it and joined in."

"And you were amazing! You were a natural as well. You just needed some added encouragement," Alya offered off screen. "You were the one who figured out how to take down Stoneheart. That's why everyone loves you, and why I started up the Ladyblog."

"Not everyone loved me. I didn't love me. Yes, I had stopped Stoneheart, but I didn't capture his akuma like I should have. It was my first day, and I had forgotten the most important part of my job. That was why Stoneheart came back, and why so many citizens got transformed into copies of him. I was devastated when I found out that I had failed Paris. I had actually renounced myself as Ladybug. Chat Noir knew what he was doing, he could take care of Paris by himself, and if the world needed Ladybug to cleanse the akumas, then someone else could take that job. I wasn't meant to be a superhero."

She had- My eyes darted to Marinette. She wasn't even pretending to look at Alya's phone anymore. She stared at the floor to her left as she fidgeted, rocking from one foot to the next. It was visibly painful for her to hear herself admit to giving up on being Ladybug. She had really thought so little of herself when I thought the world of her?

"The next day, when Stoneheart returned, Chat Noir-"

"Class," Miss Bustier interrupted, "take your seats, please."

Alya groaned and turned off the video. My chest tensed. We weren't done. Ladybug had more to say. Marinette had more to say. What was she going to say about me?

"Alright," Alya whispered to the three of us, "You guys better finish watching and let me know how amazing it was! Got it?"

We all muttered in agreement, then Marinette zipped to her seat behind me, probably grateful to not have to live through that moment again. She had laid herself bare. She was completely vulnerable. She had admitted that we were new to the whole superhero thing, when no one was able to lock down how old she was, thanks to Alya's discovery of a Ladybug superhero hieroglyph. She confessed that she didn't think she was meant to be Ladybug, and had given it up. How will that look to the citizens of Paris? What was she doing? What was her plan? Marinette always had a plan.

The second half of the school day passed by as painfully as the first. Maybe even more so, because all I wanted to do was bring out my phone and watch the rest of Ladybug's confession. I needed to know why she told Alya all of that. Why did she want Alya to post it? Why did the girls call it a 'special announcement'? Announcement of what? My mind flooded with questions.

I wasn't sure if I was going to retain anything any of my teachers told me. As good of a student as I am, I still wasn't able to focus on anything but Marinette. She was my main lesson that day.

When the algebra problems became particularly difficult she would start tapping her desk with the eraser of her pencil, and bounce her foot; softly creaking the floor. In chemistry she let out low growls as she tried to figure out the formulas. During history her pencil frantically scratched at her notepad. I doubt she was taking down notes that quickly. She was probably doodling in the margins or something.

I absorbed every sound she made, and noted when and why she made them. Each noise made me love her even more. She was human, and struggled, but powered through. It was one of the things about Ladybug that drew me to her. She became vulnerable around me, and admitted she wasn't perfect. It made her that much more amazing.

It hurt a little to know that the weakness she seemed to have reserved for only me to see was now on display for the whole world. I wasn't her lone confidant anymore. She was revealing her humanity to everyone; grounding herself.

Although, I couldn't help but admit that opening herself up like that made her seem even more breathtaking. She was so real. How could I not love that?

I wondered if she'd feel the same way about Chat Noir: that the imperfections and flaws made me relatable. I tried to remind myself that Marinette saw good in just about everyone. Maybe she wouldn't be as mad as I kept picturing her. Maybe she'd appreciate that I had already stopped my spying because I knew how wrong it was. Maybe she'd forgive me for finding out she's Ladybug, because I didn't intend to.

I doubted I was right.

The bell rang, and we all gathered our belongings as we headed down to the courtyard for gym. Mr. D'Argencourt stood in the center of the pavement, waiting for us. As I descended the stairs I couldn't keep the last thing Ladybug said in her video out of my head.

" _The next day, when Stoneheart returned, Chat Noir-"_

Chat Noir what? What did she say? What had I done? I couldn't be in class. I had to know. I knew Mr. D'Argencourt wouldn't let me participate in fencing that afternoon if I cut his gym class, but I doubted I'd be focused enough to train anyway. I didn't care.

He excused me to the infirmary when I told him I felt faint. When I arrived, I was given a small room with a cot in it. The nurse told me to try to nap so I could rest up for the rest of the day. She then closed the door behind her.

I don't think I even made it to the count of six before my phone was out of my pocket and I had the Ladyblog up. There were tons of comments on the video already, but I was afraid to read them. I scrolled to where I had left off, lowered my volume so I wouldn't be found out, and pressed 'play.'

Ladybug was a bit slouched in her chair, and she played with the tips of her gloves. She'd probably be picking at her nails if they were exposed.

"The next day, when Stoneheart returned, Chat Noir instantly ran back to fight him again. He was outnumbered. Stoneheart was already larger than him, and then six of the copies ran in to surround him. It didn't matter to Chat Noir. He fought anyway to try to protect the two girls, and to try to stop Stoneheart from causing more destruction."

Plagg flew out from his hiding spot and watched the video with me.

"Ooo, are we up to the part where you get your butt handed to you while waiting for Ladybug?"

"Shut up, Plagg." He wasn't wrong, though.

"When one of the Stonehearts missed Chat Noir with the car," Ladybug had continued, "it-"

"-came right at me. Again. Because I was filming." Alya's voice dipped, and Ladybug's eyes widened.

"Oh, no! I'm not blaming you. I would, of course, love if you could remain safe, but I'm not blaming you for being in danger. It wasn't your fault. It was Hawk Moth's for akumatizing innocent citizens. That's not the point, though. The point is that Chat Noir did the same thing he did the day before: he threw his stick to deflect the car, even if it did leave him vulnerable. He got captured, and you were safe, but still trapped behind the car.

"Paris needed Ladybug, and as much as I didn't think that was me, I was all Paris had at the time. I became Ladybug again to help save you, and to help Chat Noir to defeat Stoneheart."

She paused to shake her head. I wasn't sure if she was clearing her mind or responding to something Alya did off screen.

"When I helped Chat Noir escape from the Stoneheart copies he amazed me by still being chipper. I had abandoned him, and yet I never once saw him mad. Actually, he flirted with me. He then trusted me when I told him that we needed to take down the main Stoneheart in order to stop the copies. I didn't deserve his trust."

Ladybug wasn't looking in the camera anymore. My throat burned and my muscles twitched as I fought the urge to race to Marinette and hold her. She was wrong. It wasn't her that didn't deserve my trust, it was the other way around. I had betrayed her. I wasn't worthy of her trust, or any of this praise. How could I ever live up to this faith again?

"When we got to the original Stoneheart the police were about to attack him." Ladybug's voice was low, and Alya had to shift forward a little to pick up what she was saying. "I tried to remind them that hurting Stoneheart only made him stronger and larger. That was when one of the cops told me that I should leave taking Stoneheart down to the professionals. I had my chance to stop him and I had screwed it up. He said everything I had thought. I was about to give up being Ladybug a second time.

"That was when Chat Noir did the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me. 'No,' he said. 'The cop's wrong. Because without you Chloé would no longer be here. And because without us they won't make it. And we'll prove that to them. Trust me on this, okay?' And he said it all with such sincerity I couldn't not trust him."

I nearly wept. She remembered? She remembered what I said to her in front of the Eiffel Tower?

"That was when I knew I could do this; that I _had_ to do this. That I _was_ Ladybug. He was already one-hundred-percent my partner. He already had faith and trust in me. He was this great superhero, and yet he still needed _me_. I was determined to live up to his views of me.

"He deserved the partner he saw in me. Paris deserved the Ladybug he saw. I strived to be the best superhero I could be for all of you, because you deserve me to be. But, in truth, it's Chat Noir that pushes me to be the best I can."

"And you deserve the partner you see in me," I told the video of Ladybug. I could be better. I knew I could be better. I could be the version she was telling the world.

Ladybug then stood up, and placed her fists on her hips in that typical 'superhero' pose. Her smile grew, and I could see the twinkling of her eyes even through the phone.

"It's his turn now. I don't know what happened to make Chat Noir doubt himself, and I don't know any other way to show him how important he is. He may screw up on occasions, but he's still learning how to be a superhero too, just like me, and he always comes through in the end. He couldn't save Paris without me when Stoneheart attacked, but I can't save it without him. We are partners, through and through. I can't be a savior alone. I can't take down Hawk Moth as a solo act.

"So, Chat Noir, if you are hearing this, I hope you understand how much you mean to me. To all of us. And to help you realize it, I'm asking everyone seeing this blog to show Chat Noir how much you love him too. Because he's not just some sidekick. He's the reason I'm here to help defend all of you. To, Mayor Bourgeois, I'm also asking for you to officially make this Sunday 'Chat Noir Day' in appreciation for the best partner I could ever have. Please, wear your black and green on Sunday. Sport your Chat Noir hats and shirts and shoes and backpacks and anything else you can. All of you celebrate me so frequently, and I love you all for it. Now's the time to remind Chat Noir that he's loved just as much. Thank you."

Ladybug then cleared her throat before nodding to Alya. She then opened one of the conference room windows and swung out of frame.

"Wow!" Alya turned the camera back onto herself. "What an announcement! You heard it here first, peeps. This Sunday, show the Black Cat of Paris some love. And feel free to send me your pics to share here on the Ladyblog. Alya out!"

Now I really did feel faint. A Chat Noir appreciation day? I didn't really deserve that, did I?

"A day all about you? Not too shabby. It's a shame no one can know about me. It would be nice to be recognized." Plagg hovered by the phone.

" _So, Chat Noir, if you are hearing this, I hope you understand how much you mean to me."_

Ladybug really didn't think I was a failure. Marinette honestly believed that I was a great superhero. She had already forgiven me for Terravenger. In fact, she didn't seem to even care. She wanted me by her side. I wasn't sure if she'd feel the same way once she found out about my snooping, but it was a start.

She believed in me, and cared for me, at least as a partner.

Maybe there really was hope left. I pulled out the lucky charm Marinette made.

And I cried myself to sleep as relief washed over me.

* * *

 ****A/N: It was a challenge to write this chapter. Just like with the last one, it kept me about 7 or so re-writes from start to finish. In the end, what broke me through my writers block was switching POV. Marinette has been going through a lot since the Terravenger attack, so I popped in to see how she was handling the chaos between Adrien and Chat Noir. It was in that exercise that I came up with the Ladybug announcement video. I was originally going to have Marinette and Adrien talk about Chat Noir and how great of a partner he was for Ladybug, but I just couldn't get there organically. The video was truly my breakthrough moment for this chapter.**

 **If you want to read my experiment with Mari and how she came up with the video, please check out my side-story "A Plan Forms".**

 **One more chapter to go! Who's excited!? Also, happy Independence Day to all my American readers (I know; a day early, but, whatever)****


	15. Heaven

****A/N: I am so sorry this kept so long! I went through such troubles trying to wrestle this chapter to the ground, but I think I have it where I want it. Thank you all for being so patient with me. This chapter is over 7500 words long (which I recently learned is the average cap for a "short story"!), so I hope that makes up for the wait. I love you all!****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 15: HEAVEN**

I was awakened by the soft rapping on the infirmary room door.

"I hope you feel refreshed." The nurse walked over to the cot to help me sit upright. I only had a faint and passing hope that Plagg was hidden in my shirt again.

"The school day is just finishing up," she continued. "You should probably stop by any classes you missed to pick up your assignments before heading home."

As I got off the cot she quickly scooped the pillow and blanket up to be cleaned. She zipped back out of the room without another word; leaving the door open. It was then that I realized I still had my hand clenched around my beaded charm. I uncurled my fingers to look fondly on the gift from Marinette before giving it one more loving squeeze. After it was safely tucked back into my right front pocket I exited the infirmary.

"He's alive!" Nino dramatically called out as he jogged over to greet me.

"Oh, hey," Alya chimed in and sauntered over with Marinette in tow.

"You had us worried." Nino draped his right arm across my shoulders, and playfully smacked my chest with his left hand.

"Sorry. Just got winded, I think." I laughed as I scratched the back of my head.

"Adrien?"

A chill ran up my spine as I heard Marinette's whispered voice. She was bashfully hidden behind Alya's shoulder. Her face pinched with worry. I wanted to hold her. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to tell her everything I couldn't tell Ladybug as Chat Noir. I also wanted to run and hide, and pretend I never knew anything; go back to Marinette being my friend and Ladybug being my anonymous partner.

"Are-are you alright? I mean, are you feeling better?" She was so tense as she talked. My heart ached knowing I worried her that much.

I shrugged Nino's arm off of me and drifted over to Marinette. I stopped just out of arm's reach of her, afraid that I'd do something stupid and romantic if I got closer.

"Yes. Thank you." I had to remind myself to address Alya and Nino as well. "All of you. The soup really helped. I sort of crashed near the end of the day, but I was alert up until then." I didn't bother adding in that the only thing I was alert to was Marinette.

"See, girl?" Alya hip-bumped Marinette. "I told you the soup was fine."

"Actually, Marinette was right about it needing to be heated up." My eyes searched for Marinette's as I continued. "But the soup was delicious either way. It really was the pick-me-up I needed after a draining morning. So, thank you. I really do appreciate that you thought of me enough to put in the effort." I blinked to break the connection I had made with Marinette, and turned to Nino and Alya. "Thank you all for the effort, of course. It was amazing you guys all thought of me that much." I gave Marinette a quick side-glance. "I'm sorry if it was any sort of bother."

Marinette squeaked. It was brief and high pitched, like a baby mouse alerting someone that she was there. It worked. All eyes were on her.

Realizing what she did, she hunched a bit and tried to ignore the deep red filling her cheeks. "I mean, I'm, uh, glad you're a bother." Her eyes bolted wide as the words registered. "No, no! I mean, no bother about liking the soup."

"I think she means that we're glad you enjoyed the soup, and that it was no bother to make it." Alya laughed as Marinette nearly bent in half; defeated with a heavy sigh. It reminded me so much of Ladybug's exasperated pose when we were in the food court flooded with Chloés. I once again mentally kicked myself for not figuring it out sooner.

"Yeah," Marinette mumbled into her chest. Alya patted her on her back.

"Sorry, I forgot to bring the thermos back with me. I hope you didn't need it right away."

"N-no!" Marinette shot straight up, nearly headbutting Alya. The redhead expertly dodged out of the way of her now-flailing friend. "No, that's fine. Keep it. I mean, keep it for as long as you need. Unless you want to keep it forever, because you could. But you don't have to. If you don't like it I'll take it back. Of course I will, it's my thermos, right? Why would you keep it forever? Pfft." She scrunched her face to the side, and her eyes followed. She shifted her arms behind her back, and then to her side, and then crossed, as if she didn't know what to do with them.

She was so cute, I almost confessed right there. I opened my mouth to do just that, but my voice caught.

"Well," Alya drew out the word and smirked at Marinette. "Now that _that_ is all settled, what does everyone think of my Ladybug announcement video? Totally awesome, right?"

"Uh, what announcement?" Nino spoke up. "She was confessing about the wicked hard learning curve to being a superhero, but there wasn't an announcement."

"You haven't finished watching it?"

"We've been in class, lady, when were we supposed to watch it?"

Alya pondered her boyfriend's words before whipping out her phone. She queued it up to where we left off earlier that afternoon and held it out for us to watch. "Well, let's finish it now and you can tell me!"

"The next day," the video of Ladybug started, "when Stoneheart returned, Chat Noir instantly ran back to fight him again."

Alya's eyes darted from watching us to watching her footage to watching us again. Her focus remained on Nino and Marinette for the most part. It made sense: her boyfriend and her best friend. Those were the two opinions with the highest value to her.

Since I had already watched the video, I kept my head down, like I was looking at Alya's phone, but my eyes tilted to watch what she was doing. Whenever she wasn't looking at me, I shifted focus to Marinette.

She again diligently watched the recording of her superhero self confessing to her lack of skill when she first started. Her eyes never stayed with the phone, though. They drifted to the floor, or over to us to see what our reactions to the confession were, or down to her interlocked fingers, which fidgeted quite a bit.

"Because I was filming," came Alya's voice from the video.

Marinette flinched. It wasn't much. I don't know if Alya or Nino noticed it. Her muscles in her hands tightened, twitching her fingertips. Her shoulders also jerked back like her back straightened abruptly.

"I would, of course, love if you could remain safe," said her Ladybug persona via the recording. She must have hated that Alya felt blamed for being in danger and needing to be saved all the time. I wished she wouldn't beat herself up too much about it. Alya didn't seem all that offended.

Nino shifted on the other side of me. He was probably a bit uncomfortable watching that part of the interview as well. He had only known Alya for barely half a school day by that point, so most likely her being in danger didn't affect him all that much at the time. Hearing now how his girlfriend was in a lot of grave danger those first two days must have hurt him deeply.

I rubbed his back and shoulder to try to ground him in the now; reminding him that Alya was alright. He didn't need to worry. Sensing that his shifting caught Alya's attention, I went back to watching the video so she wouldn't spot me watching everyone else.

"Paris needed Ladybug, and as much as I didn't think that was me, I was all Paris had at the time."

I wanted to grab Marinette's hand. To let her know, just as I did Nino, that everything was alright now. She may have thought that she was all Paris had at the time, but in truth she was all Paris needed.

My chest and throat ached with heartburn again when Ladybug confessed that she didn't think she deserved my trust. I nearly crumbled knowing that the roles were greatly reversed now.

"That was when Chat Noir did the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me."

Ladybug once more recounted what I said to her after Sabrina's dad told her she had failed as a superhero. Marinette stood ridged beside me as I watched her superhero half recite my encouraging words. I found it hard to breathe as I struggled to keep tears from streaming out of my eyes. I was still dumbfounded by how impactful I was in her life. How important. When did that happen? How did that happen? I bit my tongue to keep from now telling her to her face that she deserved a better partner than me; not the other way around.

"It's his turn now." Ladybug was at the window. I knew the video was nearly over. Ladybug would be jumping out that window in a few seconds, then she'd transform back into Marinette, and show up to school just far enough behind Alya to not seem suspicious.

"So, Chat Noir, if you are hearing this, I hope you understand how much you mean to me."

I didn't even realize my fingers reached for Marinette's until she gasped and pulled her hands up to her chest. Nino and Alya were so engrossed in the closing of the video it kept a couple seconds for them to notice me and Marinette awkwardly staring into each other's eyes.

I wasn't sure what to do. Do I call attention to our fingers brushing by apologizing? Do I act like I had no clue what she was startled by? Do I point out that she grabbed my hand in the movie theater earlier that week?

"Um," Alya cleared her throat, breaking the stare-off Marinette and I had fallen into. "What did you guys think?"

Nino studied us for a heartbeat before jumping to our rescue. "That was an amazing scoop, babe!"

"Yeah," I croaked before clearing my throat. "Ladybug must really trust you to come directly to you. That really is amazing. You're going to be a fantastic reporter." Despite my best efforts, I couldn't keep my eyes from darting over to side-glance at Marinette a few times while praising Alya.

"You really are the expert on Ladybug, and I think she recognized that," Marinette offered.

"Thanks guys," Alya gushed and fanned herself in mock embarrassment at the praise. "It really was awesome, wasn't it?" She squeaked in excitement before calming down again. "So, what do you think about the announcement itself? About the appreciation day on Sunday?"

"I think a Chat Noir day is amazing!" Nino cheered, "The dude is totally awesome. He does deserve more love."

I whimpered in my head.

"Y-yeah," Marinette chirped. "It's great that Ladybug gets all this support from Paris, but the two of them really are a team. She said it herself, she can't save Paris without him. I can't wait for Sunday to see how many people show their appreciation."

I almost melted.

"I think we're missing the bigger picture here," I interjected. "Ladybug just laid herself bare to the whole world. I think that took way more courage than she could imagine. Seeing how amazing she is now, and knowing she had to learn to be that way? Finding out that even she needed a confidence boost is a great message! Don't you think?"

"A great message?" Marinette looked about ready to collapse herself.

"Well, yeah. Everyone at some point must feel like that! Starting a new school subject, or a new job, or learning a new sport or hobby? Everyone at one time must think 'I'm so bad at this, why should I bother?' But Ladybug proved that you can be awesome if you just believe in yourself and give yourself a chance to learn. She's always showing that you can come back from your mistakes and shortcomings. That's one of the best things about her."

Perhaps I laid it on a bit too thick, because Marinette turned a new shade of pink as she looked away from me.

"You don't think her video makes her sound unworthy to be Ladybug?" Marinette asked as she continued to look past her other shoulder. "I mean, she told everyone that she gave it up. She almost left Paris defenseless."

"But she changed her mind. She was scared, but did what needed to be done to protect everyone. And that speech she gave to Hawk Moth when she told him that she and Chat Noir were going to take him down? I knew then that-"

I almost said "I knew then that I loved her."

"-that she would never let Paris down," I covered. "If anything, her confessing about needing help from her partner makes her an even better hero. She knows her weakness and tries to overcome it. She's not overly confident or condescending. She's real."

Marinette slowly turned back to me. Her mouth again slightly agape, tempting me to just lean forward and taste her lips.

"Ooo," Alya cooed, "A riveting debate." She scrolled through the comments on her video, "and it looks like you two aren't the only ones having it. This is blowing up! Okay, so what are the four of us doing for Chat Noir Day? I _have_ to have an awesome picture to put up on my own blog!"

"What about on the bridge leading from the Trocadero to the Eiffel Tower?" Nino suggested. "I mean, Ladybug said that was where Chat Noir convinced her to stay a superhero, right? So it must have some sort of extra meaning for them, doesn't it? You think that will work?"

"Nino, I think that would be amazing!" Alya pulled him sideways into a tight hug and kissed his cheek. "What should we do for our picture, though? We can't just be in black and green, and standing on the bridge. We should have a sign, or props, or something."

"Well, Marinette did an amazing job on that banner for Alix and Kim's race." I placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder, and electricity ran through my arm. "Maybe you could do something like that again for the picture? Will you have enough time?"

"Yeah," she breathed, half-lidded eyes looking up at me. She then shook her head like she was trying to fling something out of her hair. When she looked back at me she had a laser focused determination on her face that was so unbelievably Ladybug, I was half expecting the mask to be on. "Of course I can put that together. For Chat Noir? Definitely. I can do it."

"If you want," Alya added, "we can make it together when I come over to help with your portfolio."

"Your portfolio!" I could have kicked myself. "How did I forget that I asked you to put one together? Nevermind the banner. The portfolio is more important."

"No. That's fine. Really." Marinette's eyes drifted to my hand still lingering on her shoulder.

I whipped my hand off her shoulder and scratched the back of my head with it, smiling awkwardly at her. How did I not notice that I hadn't moved it?

"I want to make the banner." Marinette began shifting her weight from one foot to the next. "I can totally do both. Besides, Chat Noir sounds like he really needs our support right now. If that means I miss my opportunity to show my drawings to your father? Well, it will be worth it if we can make Chat Noir find his confidence again. I mean, I'm only fourteen. I'm sure I'll still have plenty of opportunities. Right?"

"Marinette!" Alya released Nino and instead pulled her best friend into a tight side-hug. "You truly are amazing!"

"Yeah," I gave them a bashful smile. I couldn't believe that Marinette would potentially give up such a great opportunity just to cheer me up. I really didn't deserve her as a partner. "You really are. That's why you will definitely have plenty of opportunities. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let this one pass you up."

Alya gave Marinette another hip bump, and Nino smirked as he gave her two thumbs up.

"Nathalie hasn't gotten back to me yet about Father's schedule anyway. So, how about you focus on the banner for Sunday, and then I can pick up the portfolio after school on Monday. Will that be enough time to finish both?"

"Definitely," Alya answered for Marinette.

"Alright, it's a date then. I'll walk you home Monday and I'll pick up the portfolio then." I winked and gave Marinette a dual finger-gun salute.

 _It's a date? I'll walk you home?_ What was I saying? Winks and finger-guns? What was I _doing?_ Cool it, Agreste!

Alya looked like she was holding Marinette up. I hoped I didn't say anything wrong.

"Uh, dude," Nino elbowed me and pointed to the school entrance. "I think we may have hung out a bit too long."

My bodyguard stood in the doorway, his head on a swivel as he tried to figure out where I was. Once he spotted me, his eyebrows fixed low on his forehead as he walked towards me with barreling determination.

I cringed. "Yeah, I've got to go. Text me to let me know what time we're meeting up on Sunday, okay? And let me know if you need me to do anything for the photo."

"Will do." Nino held out his fist for me to bump before I jogged to my locker to get my stuff.

The Gorilla wasn't a big fan of me running late without letting him know I was okay, especially after Mr. D'Argencourt had contacted Nathalie to let her know I had missed his gym class and therefore was excused from fencing practice that afternoon. My bodyguard seemed to get over his agitation quickly enough as he calmly escorted me back to the town car.

By the time I got home Ladybug's ten minute video was all over the news. Online it was all anyone was talking about. The Ladyblog was flooded with comments; accompanied by debates. They went on and on, and after nearly two hours reading through them my eyes became strained from staring at the screen.

I ate dinner and went back to my room to catch up on the schoolwork I missed. It was fairly simple, but it was a lot more than I had anticipated. It was just past nine when I finished.

Shortly after I got the text.

 _Dude, you alright? I half expected a text or call or even a post on your profile by now. Isn't Chat Noir your favorite superhero?_

I stared bewildered at Nino's message. I checked the time stamp to see if he had sent it while I was in the infirmary and I had just missed it. Sent at 9:07.

 _First of all, I've always been more partial to Ladybug._ I replied. _Secondly, what are you even talking about? We already discussed what we were going to do on Sunday. I had asked you to send me more details._

 _You mean you haven't seen?_

 _Seen what?_

 _Bro, you HAVE to turn on the news! You will freak!_

I hopped over my sofa and turned on my TV.

"-excitement bustling through the city in anticipation for Sunday's pop-up festivities." Nadja Chamack was already in the middle of her news report.

 _Pop-up festivities?_ I texted Nino.

 _Yeah! The mayor totally took Ladybug's suggestion and ran with it! He's having an entire festival in Chat Noir's honor! How legit is that?_

A whole festival? In my honor? Was he serious?

"While the acts have not been announced yet, Mayor Bourgeois has confirmed that he has an entire day filled with entertainment. Vendors are also excited for the event as they prepare Chat Noir themed items to sell. For more, we'll go to our field reporter Clara Contard."

A young woman with her brunette hair pulled back into a ponytail stood outside a brick warehouse. The garage door was covered in paint splatter: Théo Barbot's workshop. The sun was still shining, so it was obviously a previously recorded news report.

"Théo, you are most famously known as the teenage prodigy that sculpted the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue commissioned for the Place des Vosges. What were you planning for this Sunday's Chat Noir Appreciation festival?" Clara held her microphone out for Théo.

"In all honesty, I wasn't much of a fan of Chat Noir after meeting him at the statue unveiling. He seemed way too immature to be a superhero."

I flinched as I remembered my jealousy making me cocky around the poor guy after he shared his admiration for Ladybug.

"Then I watched Ladybug's video. I've also seen them work together, and they are an amazing pair. If Ladybug believes Chat Noir is a great partner, and deserving of our praise, I trust her judgment. To prove that, I have a series of five statues I will be making exclusively for the event on Sunday. They will be auctioned off throughout the festival to benefit keeping the courthouse updated."

Théo held up two papers with sketches of his planned statues. One was of me preparing my Cataclysm, another had me wielding my baton like a saber, and a third was simply me in a standard superhero stance of my fists on my hips. The other page had a sketch of a bust of me with a playful smirk. My favorite, though, was me standing with my baton in front of me like a cane and my hair being tossed out of my eyes with a flick of my head.

It reminded me of when I danced in the searchlight of a helicopter before taking down cops listening to Rogercop's orders. Were we being taped as Ladybug and I raided City Hall in an attempt to rescue the mayor and Chloé? How did Théo get a reference to me standing like that?

 _This is insane!_ I finally texted back to Nino, after I realized I never responded to his last text.

 _IKR? Alya is driving me crazy trying to come up with something big for her blog. I think she's gonna try livestreaming the whole thing._

I only half-registered Nino's latest text. In Clara's report she was now standing inside of the Dupain-Cheng bakery with Marinette's parents.

"What were you planning on doing for Chat Noir Day?"

Marinette's father froze as Clara held her microphone out for him. He just stared at the camera and muttered "uh." I chuckled at this big, imposing guy being camera shy. It reminded me so much of Marinette, maybe that's where she got her bashfulness from.

"We have three different Chat Noir themed goodies for everyone to try out on Sunday." Marinette's mother came in with the save as she held up a tray of pastry prototypes they had been making since the festival was announced. The first were crunchy breadsticks coated in silver-dyed white chocolate in order to look like my baton. There was even a little, green, sugar paw print embedded in the chocolate of each one. Their second goody was a sweet bun with a white-chocolate and honey frosting to make it look like my costume's cat bell.

"But the one we're most excited about is our mint-filled dark chocolate sandwich cookie." Marinette's mother elbowed her husband, who had warmed up to the camera a bit with his wife's help.

"Oh! Yes!" He turned around and grabbed the last tray. It was covered in thin sandwich cookies made of chocolate so dark brown they almost looked black. In the center of each top cookie a paw print was cut out, allowing the mint filling to show through. They looked like my ring face whenever I was Chat Noir.

"These were designed by our very talented daughter Marinette," Mr. Dupain puffed out his chest as he held up the cookie.

My throat burned as I tried to swallow. Marinette had designed them? She had helped her parents come up with treats to sell at a festival she secretly proposed as Ladybug? And she was going to make a banner to cheer me on? Why was she doing all of this for me? It was too much.

My heart fluttered and tears stung the corners of my eyes.

Three more vendors were interviewed by Clara. A local artist was selling prints she made of me in different action poses, and one drawing of me curled up on Ladybug's lap like a pet cat. I wasn't sure if I should have found it adorable or offensive. A Parisian candy maker had made two different lollipops for the event: a hard candy lime-green cat paw print, and a black cat head cake pop. A jeweler was giving free ring cleaning, and sizing discounts to anyone that dressed up like Chat Noir.

"Sounds like a lot is going to happen all throughout Paris," Nadja concluded. "The festivities will kick off at ten A.M. in front of City Hall."

I was flabbergasted. There was no reason for all of this. Not for me. This should all be for Ladybug. Marinette was the amazing one. My heart swelled as I realized what she had done for me.

There was a knock on my bedroom door, and I turned off my TV.

"I'm fine Nathalie, really, you don't need to keep checking up on me."

"That's good to know."

I turned around to see my father standing against my open door, his hands folded behind his back.

"Father! I'm- I'm sorry, I thought-"

He held up one hand to pause me before tucking it against his back again. "That's quite alright. I was just checking in myself. I'm... sorry that it kept me so long to see how you were. It's just, I can't afford to become ill, not with the new line coming out soon. Especially not now with this blasted festival out of nowhere to try to prepare for." His eyes darkened and his hands clenched behind him. Clearing his throat, he gave his vest a swift tug to straighten himself out. He then walked over to my sofa.

"I'm sorry if I was a bother, Father. I was just a bit burnt out, I think. I'm fine now."

"Good, because I'm going to need you at least well enough to be able to sign autographs, and perhaps take a few pictures with fans, by Sunday." He sat down beside me, and I couldn't help but gawk.

"I'm sorry?"

"The festival. I just finished approving the ads using the pictures from your reshoot last week. I ordered a box from the printer so that you can autograph them at a booth I'm putting up on Sunday. I should be able to pick them up by the shop's closing tomorrow. You will be well enough to sit and sign your name all day, I trust."

"Well, yes, Father, but I was actually hoping to enjoy the festival with my friends. Besides, what does any of that have to do with Chat Noir?"

"The public won't care that it doesn't have to do with this silly themed celebration. They will just care that they can interact with you, and maybe get a few photos. It's about promoting my brand, Adrien. This family's brand."

"But, Father-"

"Honestly, if Chat Noir needs all this thanks, then perhaps he shouldn't be a superhero." He stood back up and again straightened his vest and jacket. "Maybe he should make everyone's life easier, and just surrender his Miraculous to Hawk Moth already."

"Father!"

"Save everyone the hassle of coming up with activities for some inane celebration."

"It's not stupid, Father. A lot of people are looking forward to it. Chat Noir has helped Ladybug save Paris so many times, and the citizens just want to show him that we appreciate all he does. He didn't ask for this."

He gave me a long side-glance before rolling his eyes. As they caught the monitors lining my desk, and the mirrored one hanging above, his face softened. His shoulders slouched slightly. He took slow, mindless steps towards my desk.

"Is that-?"

"Mom. On her seventeenth birthday. It's one of my favorite pictures of her." I studied my desktop wallpaper about as intently as my father.

"You look so much like her." Father braced himself on the back of my computer chair as he looked over his shoulder at me.

I didn't know how to respond. I simply walked over to stand beside him.

"It would look bad if I didn't have some sort of booth set up on Sunday." Father had turned back to the large overhead monitor.

"May I suggest something?"

His eyes shifted to me briefly before going back to the picture of Mom. Still fixated on her, he gave me a small nod.

I took a deep breath to steel myself.

"What if, instead of the ads, you had the printer make coloring pages? You could draw an outline of Chat Noir. Don't put in any details of his costume, just a blank bodysuit with the mask, ears, and tail. Use the booth you were going to have me autograph at as a Kids Booth. Let them redesign Chat Noir's costume. Or you could do generic male and female outlines so the kids could design their own superheroes to fight along side Ladybug and Chat Noir. Really promote the Gabriel Agreste fashion designing. It could really help market you as the family-friendly brand, which is great with a new teen line coming out in two weeks."

Father's body stayed facing my desk monitors, but his head slowly turned to look at me as I spoke. We stood in silence for a moment as he pondered my alternative. After stealing one last glance at Mom's picture, he smiled. It wasn't a large smile, more of a hint of one, but it was what I had become accustomed to with him.

"That is actually quite a brilliant idea, Adrien."

"Really, Father?" I gasped at his praise, and my cheeks hurt from the grin I tried to hide.

"We'll have to get the coloring page drawings to the printer first thing tomorrow morning, and we'll have to gather up colored pencils and the like. It will take a lot of effort to change up the booth this much. I expect you to assist Nathalie in setting everything up. Is that understood?"

"Of course, Father!" I nearly jumped onto my bed and howled. He had actually listened to a suggestion I made!

"And I do expect you to at least wear an outfit from the new line as you go through Paris with your friends on Sunday."

"Yes! Yes, I will!" I wrapped my arms tightly around my father's chest. I could have wept. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

He pulled me in to return the hug and ran his hands through my hair. The way Mom used to comb her fingers through it.

"You are my son. I do want you to be happy. I hope you know that."

We stayed in our embrace for eternity, but it was still too soon when he broke away.

"You need your rest. I'll have Nathalie make sure you are up around six. That should give you enough time to get things sorted before heading to the printer's." He closed the door behind him, and I nearly collapsed to the floor with joy. I couldn't imagine the day getting any better. How could I have such a high just a day after experiencing such a low?

"Oh, and, Adrien?" My father cracked the door open and called in.

"Yes, Father?"

"Good-" He took a breath and spoke a bit louder; with more conviction. "Goodnight, son."

"Goodnight, Father." I beamed.

That's it. I was dead. I somehow died during Terravenger's attack. I had found out that my crush was also the love of my life, I was gifted some of the best soup I have ever tasted, Ladybug herself stated that I was why she was a superhero, I now have a whole festival dedicated to me, my father took my advice on something, and he said goodnight to me just before I got ready for bed! How could I _not_ be in heaven?

I climbed into bed feeling the happiest I've had since Mom disappeared. My heart was so full it actually hurt. I had no clue how I was going to make it until Sunday.

* * *

Thankfully, Saturday flew by in a blur. Between getting drawings for the coloring pages done up, dropping them off at the printer, getting enough colored pencils to tide us over for the day, figuring out decorations for the booth, renting enough chairs and tables for kids to color and draw at, picking out the outfit from Father's latest line that I wanted to wear the next day, and still try to coordinate with Nino as to what our group's gameplan was, I was exhausted. I had no clue how Marinette managed having so much on her plate. I also realized that the unphased Nathalie must be secretly an android or something. There was no way she was human.

I was just glad that Hawk Moth gave me and Ladybug a day off; two actually, since there hadn't been an akuma attack since Terravenger.

As my head hit my pillow Saturday night I didn't think about Chat Noir Day. I didn't imagine how the city would be decked out, or how many people would be dressed like me, or the fact that Paris was celebrating _me._ All I thought about was Marinette. This sweet, amazing, talented, smart, beautiful girl that I was going to spend the next day with. I couldn't wait.

* * *

Sunday arrived, and I questioned every decision I had made, mostly in regards to my outfit. I tried to pick as much black and green from Father's newest line so I could stick with the day's theme. I ended up with black jeans, a shamrock-green short sleeved shirt with the Gabriel G-logo in the bottom corner of the hem, matching green sneakers, and a black bandanna with my father's butterfly logo sprinkled throughout it like polka dots. I hoped Marinette would like it.

Setting up my father's Kids Booth with Nathalie was painfully slow, and I kept checking my phone for the time. Or messages from my friends. We were supposed to meet up outside City Hall a little before ten so Alya could set up to film the mayor's commencement of the festival.

I was placing the last box of colored pencils on the tables when I got tackled into a bear hug from behind.

"Bro, this looks so swank!" Nino let me go and held up his fist for me to bump.

I tapped his knuckles with mine and gave a soft smile. I then looked around for Alya and Marinette.

"Wow, nice outfit, don't you think, Marinette?" Alya waved me down. Just like when we went to see the movie, Alya emphasized Marinette's name like she was calling her out about something. It made me blush slightly.

"Uh, thanks. It's part of my father's newest line of teen clothing. I promised him I'd wear it to the festival to help promote it, in exchange he allowed me to hang out with you guys today."

Marinette bit her lower lip, and my heart jumped. She then darted over to one of the tables I had just set up.

"This is such a neat idea! Design Chat Noir's costume? Create your own superhero? This is fantastic." She picked up the Chat Noir coloring page and pondered the colored pencils.

"Thanks again. I'm still surprised my father went with my idea."

"Wait, this is your idea?" Marinette blinked. Was it that surprising that I could come up with this?

"Dude, that is amazing! I didn't think your old man ever listened to you."

I turned to Nino and gave him a large grin. "I know, me neither. Part of me still doesn't believe it actually happened. Oh! And one other thing." I picked up one of the coloring pages. "Marinette, I think you'd really like this." I held the page out to her, holding it upside down so she was looking at the outline along the bottom of Chat Noir's boots. The treads weren't just wavy lines. Written so small that it was almost hidden in the sketch was the name Nathaniel Kurtzberg, his first name on Chat's left shoe and his last name on the right.

"Wait. Is that Nathaniel's name?" Marinette squeaked. She scanned the rest of the coloring page, and the edge of one cat ear was actually incomplete, making Nathaniel's signature exclamation point.

"Yeah. My father's a great fashion designer, and therefore a good artist, but his style just wouldn't work with the simplistic idea of a coloring page. I knew you were already pretty busy, and Nathaniel's a great artist, so I asked him if he'd help me out. I also knew my father would never share the spotlight by letting Nath sign his name to his work, so I figured I'd take a page from your book. I told him about how you signed your derby hat upside down so it just looked like a neat embroidery design right-side up. I asked him to try to do the same thing with his sketches. Not many people will be able to see it, but he has proof that he did it."

"Wow!" Alya gaped. "That is the coolest thing I've ever heard!"

"You did this for Nath? And you gave him my idea to do it?" Marinette held the page closer to her face in order to better inspect Nathaniel's signature.

I panicked. Was she mad at me for giving another artist her idea? Was she entranced by Nath? I knew he had a crush on her, and maybe still did. I didn't just play matchmaker, did I?

"You're- you're not mad that I gave him the idea, are you?"

"Mad? Of course not! That was really sweet of you." Marinette placed the page neatly back onto the table before giving me the sweetest smile. I could have died (assuming I wasn't already).

"Yeah, well." I cleared my throat and shifted my weight so I was leaning on the table. I slipped a little while doing so, and ended up leaning in close to Marinette. I didn't want her to notice my goof, so I stayed there like I had intended to invade her personal space. That's a lot more suave, right?

"Are you going to keep us in suspense?" I asked her, "Or do we get to see the banner you made?" I pointed to the roll of cloth she had tucked under her arm the whole time.

She glanced over at it bewildered, like she had forgotten it was there.

"Oh! Ye-yeah!" She took a step back and held it up. The silver fabric had green paw prints peppered across it, but in the center were chibi versions of Chat Noir and Ladybug fist bumping. Above their heads "Pound it" was in all caps, every letter alternating between Chat Noir neon green and Ladybug red. "Thanks for keeping us safe" was under the chibi superheroes written in yellow so it would pop against the other colors.

I wanted to hug her so bad. I decided to save myself by crossing my arms instead; hoping it looked casual.

"Awesome banner, but I guess I couldn't expect anything less from you." I gave her a wink, and then instantly mentally yelled at myself. Why was I always winking at her now? Because _that_ won't give me away!

Marinette giggled. It was her honest giggle! She was actually happy, not nervous! If I hadn't already determined the other night that I was dead and in heaven, that would have been the final nail in my coffin.

"Well, are we going to find spots, or what? The speech is going to start soon, and I can't miss any of it." Alya started taking some backwards steps to lure us from my father's booth.

Nathalie gave me a nod as she finished up the last of the prep work. "Be careful, Adrien. Stay with your friends, keep your phone handy, and send me a check-in text once an hour. Your father is very nervous to have you out in such a crowd, especially with your newest ad coming out."

"I'll be fine, Nathalie. Thank you."

We jogged to the stage built in front of City Hall. Mayor Bourgeois was at the microphone finishing up his sound test.

"Hey, peeps, Alya here livestreaming the Chat Noir Appreciation festival today in Paris." Alya's phone was already up as she began her long day of filming.

Nino bumped me in the arm and held up five different portable phone chargers before thumbing over to Alya. The two of them did come prepared for her to be looking through a screen all day. I had to swallow a laugh.

"Greetings, People of Paris," Mayor Bourgeois began a minute later. "We're gathered here today to-"

There was a loud feedback loop that cut through the crowd. The mayor cleared his throat and tried again.

"We're gathered here-"

Another feedback screech. Followed by one of the speakers to the left of the stage smoking. As the staffers checked in on the busted speaker another blew on the opposite side.

I tensed up, and I sensed Marinette doing the same thing on the other side of Alya.

"What is go-" This time the mayor's microphone cut out completely as the remaining speakers blew. A few people in the crowd cried out in surprise.

Then a creature jumped onto the stage, scaring every citizen close to it. It was about a meter and half tall with a stumpy and rounded chest and belly. Its arms and legs were disproportionately long and spindly, with thin clawed fingers. Long, pointed elf-like ears stuck out past its bald head. Pointed teeth stuck out of its animal-like snout as it snarled at the mayor, who quickly ran off the stage. The smoky-gray and black monster was obviously an akumatized supervillain. I should have known that Hawk Moth was waiting to ruin the festival.

I had to find a way to split me and Marinette from everyone else, and then break away from Marinette so we could each transform.

"Quick!" Marinette yelled, "Run back to Adrien's father's booth." She pushed Alya back the way we came, ignoring her best friend's attempts to video tape the villain. Nino helped by grabbing Alya's hand and pulled her along.

We were behind Alya and Nino. With the chaos of the crowd it would be easy to split from them. Marinette was brilliant. This must be how she had broken away to become Ladybug so many times in the past.

As much as I wanted to mimic Nino and grab Marinette's hand in order to pull her to safety, I knew I had to let her slip away from me. We jogged behind our friends, but let the crowd cut between us. I then let Marinette fall further behind me; knowing I'd soon see her again.

I bolted to a side alley and checked that Marinette wasn't visible anymore. She was probably transforming, and I wanted to watch it so bad. Instead, I focused on the task at hand.

"A day for Chat Noir and I _still_ can't get a rest?" Plagg whined.

"I don't know what you're talking about. A celebration of Chat Noir is the perfect time for him to save Paris." I smirked and thrust my hand out. "Plagg, claws out!"

* * *

 ****A/N: Aaaah! What's this!? We're not done yet!?**

 **Yup. This chapter is already beyond massive, and I'm only about 2/5 of the way through what I wanted for the conclusion of this story. So there is still ONE MORE CHAPTER LEFT (or maybe two, depending on how easily the duo can take down this latest akuma).**

 _*shutters*_ **I hate writing up akumas, but I hope this one goes smoothly.**

 **As for this chapter, well, I needed to resolve the soup subplot, and Ladybug's video subplot. I also needed to set up the festival, add some Adrienette goodness, and set up the akuma, because how could Hawk Moth NOT send out an akuma in the 4 days between Terravenger and the end of this story? Finally, since Adrien's interaction with Gabriel at the very start of this story is the main catalyst to the whole thing, I had to resolve THAT too. Show how their dynamic changed, even a little bit.**

 **Just a few more loose ends to tie up and then we're done. Here's hoping I can crank out the next chapter a bit faster this time, but writing new chapters from scratch take a bit longer than just editing an existing draft sooooo. Bear with me, okay? Oh, and also: HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13TH! (I did want to post SOMETHING Chat Noir related today anyway...) :3**

 **So, I guess... Until Next Friday!****


	16. Appreciation

****A/N:** **I'm alive! Sorry for the delay. I had to write this from scratch, which took far longer than I gave it credit. I also was on vacation last week, which left me with little time to write. Anyway, I thank you for being patient and coming back for this conclusion.**

 **Well, sort of conclusion. The chapter again became massive, so I split it. Anyway, prepare for the end!****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 16: APPRECIATION**

"Chat, I hope you get this message soon. I need to talk to you. I mean, we need to really talk. I'm worried about you. Anyway, you probably won't get this tonight, but I hope you do know that you aren't lame. You _are_ my partner. Alright, well, call me back. Let me know where we can meet up. Bye."

As soon as I became Chat Noir my baton started rapidly beeping. I was confused as to how Marinette managed to transform and call me already, let alone _why_ she had called me already. Did she not think Chat Noir would show up? I knew I should have left the messages unlistened to until after the battle, but curiosity and cats and all of that. As I listened to the first one it was evident that the voice mails were after the Terravenger attack, and had no baring on the current akuma. Even so, I couldn't leave them alone.

"It's me again." Ladybug's voice was unsure, and I could almost picture her as Marinette just calling my cellphone, "I mean, of course it's me again. Who else could call you? Anyway, I'm just checking in. I don't know what threw you off your game tonight, but it's okay, it really is. I hope you know that. Well, again, just call me with a time and place where we can meet so we can talk. Bye."

I couldn't believe how many times Ladybug had tried to contact Chat Noir since I ran off that night. My stomach knotted as I realized how much I must have worried her.

"Either you still haven't transformed back into Chat Noir, or you're ignoring me. I hope you're not ignoring me." Ladybug's voice was getting tight with panic. "I still need to talk. I want to make sure you're okay. Want to meet up on the Eiffel Tower? No, wait, we just had a battle there. You don't want to go there. Sorry, that was stupid. What about the stadium? Let me know. Bye."

I felt terrible about the messages. She had been _this_ worried about me? Worst yet, because this was the first time I had transformed into Chat Noir since Terravenger, Ladybug – I mean Marinette – had to sit in a sort of limbo for the better part of three days.

"Morning, Chat Noir." Ladybug tried to sound perky in her fourth message, but her voice was still strained with worry. "You probably just needed a night to yourself, right? Well, I hope you're feeling better now. I'd really like it if you got back to me to let me know. I'll transform later to check for messages. Just call me back. Please. Anyway, I need to go. I hope to talk to you later. Bye."

I nearly cried when I heard how pained she sounded in the next voice mail.

"Chat Noir, please contact me. I really do want to talk to you. I want to be there for you, but I

can't be if you won't let me. I'm going to try again at around four today. If you hear this, please

either get back to me, or meet up with me then. I'll be on the top of the Francoise Dupont school."

Behind me were the screeches of tires and a thud of a crash. People shouting. Somehow I had forgotten that I had transformed because of an akuma attack. Ladybug was fighting that thing without me. _Marinette_ was fighting without me. I couldn't stop listening though.

"Hey again. Look, clearly you don't want to talk to me, but, if you haven't yet, please go check out the Ladyblog. There's something important there that I need you to see. Please. I'm not going to call you again. You know how to get back to me when you're ready. I hope you still want to be Chat Noir, because I need _you._ Not just some partner. Anyway, check out the Ladyblog post, and I'll still wait for you on the school at four. Bye."

The messages ended just as the sirens on a police car died off. I shook my head to snap myself back into action. Buginette needed me, and I was just standing in an alley listening to voice mails. I made her wait with Terravenger. I couldn't believe I was doing the same thing again.

I extended my baton to shoot me up to the rooftop of the buildings I was hiding between. I took in the scene. It wasn't pretty. The plaza outside City Hall was filled with dropped Chat Noir paraphernalia that people had purchased prior to the commencement speech. The few rows of chairs that made up the VIP section by the stage were all overturned. Every speaker tower in the plaza was smoking. Sparks were coming out of the microphone stand. The screens mounted to the sides of buildings - so everyone could see Mayor Bourgeois - were black and smoking. The edges of the plaza were lined with busted police cars. Some of them were smoking like the engine overheated. Others were smashed into walls; tread marks screeching through spilt oil.

This was partially my fault. I was listening to stupid voice mails instead of jumping right back into the fray. Instead of helping. First I had made poor Marinette – I mean Ladybug? - worry that she did something wrong to upset Chat Noir, and now I abandoned her to that chaos down there, with all those people out celebrating me. I couldn't believe I was failing everyone again. I couldn't fail them all again.

I shook my head and screwed my eyes tightly closed.

 _It's alright,_ I reminded myself, _Marinette will use her Miraculous Ladybugs and it will all be fine. Just get in there and help now before things get worse._

I scanned the plaza again. I didn't see the mayor or the akumatized supervillain. Ladybug was pulling a couple of cops from a crashed cruiser. They didn't seem hurt, but they did seem dazed. I dropped down beside them to help.

"Everyone alright?" I sheepishly assisted a cop out of the passenger side of the car. He nodded back to me that he wasn't hurt.

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug jumped over the hood of the car, and wrapped her arms around me for a heart beat before breaking away. She looked me over, like she was checking for visible wounds. "Are you alright? I haven't heard from you, and I was worried, and I thought you weren't going to be a superhero anymore, so I asked for this day, and-"

I held up my hands to stop her rambling. It was so much like Marinette, I wondered, not for the first time that weekend, how I had missed it before. Seriously, how blind was I?

I then realized how grateful I was that Marinette was apparently just as blind to have not picked up that teen model and close friend Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir.

"Ma-M'lady!" I cleared my throat and hoped she didn't catch the misspeak. "It's alright, really. I'm much better now, thanks to you. This whole thing is wonderful." I looked around the destroyed plaza. "At least, it was wonderful. Anyway, let's focus on taking down this akuma so we can go back to celebrating me." I smirked and leaned on the roof of the ruined cruiser.

Her smile was a bit crooked, and her eyes didn't light up. She was clearly still nervous, but thankful that I had my mind set on defeating an akuma.

"You're right, but please promise me that we'll meet up again later today to really talk. No akumas to distract us?"

I still wasn't sure what I could tell her. I couldn't lose her. I needed to make sure she would love both Adrien _and_ Chat Noir. She wasn't ready yet to hear that I had been spying on her; that I knew she was Marinette. I knew that much, but she did deserve something.

"Sure. Pick the time and place and I'll be there. In the meantime, any idea where the supervillain disappeared to?"

Ladybug twitched like lightning ran through her spine. Her eyes widened and she began spinning frantically around.

"I- I don't know. He was here a moment ago. A little gray monster-like creature. He was destroying all the electrical equipment and sabotaging the police cars."

"Wait, sabotaging vehicles and technology?" I began examining the car I was leaning against. Trying to find any clue I could.

"Yeah. Why, do you know who it is?"

Leading to the car's undercarriage - where the gas line was sliced apart - were long claw marks. I remembered seeing something similar in the older cartoons and movies I watched.

"No," I replied, "But I know _what_ it is. This supervillain is a gremlin: little fairy- or elf-like creatures that pilots in World War II would blame plane failures on. Gremlins took joy in destroying modern technology and sabotaging vehicles; usually fighter planes."

"That doesn't sound good."

There was a yell from inside the City Hall building.

"Yeah, neither does that." I extended my baton so I could be ready to fight. Ladybug started swirling her yo-yo beside her.

"That sounded like Mayor Bourgeois. I think he found our gremlin friend." She gave me a more genuine side smile. "Shall we, Chat Noir?"

"Gladly." We gave each other a nod and raced into the building.

I don't know if Ladybug was anxious to end the attack and return to the festival, or if she had no other master plans, because she used her Lucky Charm almost as soon as we caught up with Gremlin and Mayor Bourgeois. It was simple enough to scoop Gremlin up in the large sack Ladybug got with her Lucky Charm. He was pinned inside with just his head sticking out of the top of the red sack with black spots. Dangling from his neck was what looked like a choker with a rectangular charm hanging off it. The necklace turned out to be a City Hall employee ID badge and lanyard.

Enzo Dubois was the main event planner tasked to throw the city-wide Chat Noir Appreciation Day festival. He barely had forty-eight hours to pull it all together, and Mayor Bourgeois couldn't even remember the guy's name. In the few minutes we had left, Ladybug apologized for asking for the impossible and not thinking through her request when she made the video. I thanked Enzo for the fantastic job he did on such short notice, and let him know how honored I felt. Even Mayor Bourgeois apologized for not fully appreciating his subordinate's efforts.

Then my ring beeped, as did Ladybug's earrings. We hopped out the window and up to the roof of City Hall. I was about to leap away further when Ladybug grabbed my wrist.

"Chat. You promised. We're going to meet and talk when we have more time. Right?"

We had barely said anything during the battle. We were too focused on catching Gremlin and purifying his akuma. Part of me was actually happy about that though. We worked effortlessly together, like we were reading each other's minds again. There never needed to be much discussion between us to know how to coordinate our attacks. I loved that I didn't break that connection during Terravenger and my weekend vanishing act.

"Yeah." I gave Ladybug a small smile. "When?"

Her eyes scanned the city, and landed along the Seine.

"How about the Trocadéro? At eight tonight? That should give us both enough time to rest up our kwamis."

"Sure." My throat dried and my heart pounded against my rib cage. "Until eight, m'lady." I dramatically bowed, and then shot myself off to a set of buildings where I could transform back to Little Lost Adrien without being caught.

*v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v*

"Adrien! Where were you?" Nino nearly tackled me as I approached my father's booth.

Alya zipped past me before looping back.

"Where's Marinette?"

"What?" I looked around and feigned shock best as I could. "I thought she was with you guys! She was the one who said to come here."

"No," Alya's face was twisted in worry, "Both of you fell behind us and then we lost you in the crowd. We thought you two were together."

"I got shoved into an alley, and it kept me a while to break away. I didn't see where Marinette went."

Alya hugged herself and wandered past me, trying to search the crowd re-emerging into the streets now that the akuma was taken care of. I brushed my hand against her elbow to comfort her.

"Hey, Ladybug used her restoration power. I'm sure Marinette is perfectly fine. She's probably just a little turned around."

"Guys! Hey! You got here alright!" Right on cue, Marinette jogged over to the booth, and Alya pulled her into a deep hug.

"Don't do that to me again, girl!" Alya reprimanded. "Twice! Twice in one week Nino and I got separated from you two! You guys are hopeless in akuma attacks, I swear."

"Us two?" Marinette looked over at me, and I blushed. I quickly rambled off my 'shoved into an alley' excuse, and she gave a similar one.

Our reunion got interrupted by Nathalie loudly clearing her throat. I shrunk a bit as she gave me one of those "I'm disappointed" speeches, despite my claim that I didn't purposely separate from Nino and Alya. Both my argument and Marinette's didn't save us from the wrath of our friends either. Once Nathalie was done we got an earful from Alya and Nino as well.

"Bells!" Nino decreed once they were done. "We need to put bells on both of your necks so we can keep track of you two!"

I tried not to laugh at the irony of Nino's suggestion.

"Tracking devices," Alya added in, "I'll have an app all loaded on my phone!" She wagged her phone in our faces to emphasize her point.

"Leashes!" Nino threw out as another option.

"Sorry," Marinette stifled a chuckle. "I'll try to not disappear on you anymore."

"Me too." I knew neither of us could keep the promise, but at least Marinette was smart enough to add in the word 'try.' Of course she was, she was one of the most intelligent, crafty, and strategic people I knew.

Once everyone was calmed down, we attempted the festival a second time. We were forced to have The Gorilla escort us this go, but it didn't seem to damper the fun.

Black and green streamers and banners were draped everywhere. Buildings and booths were decked out with matching green and black balloons. There were games and prizes all designed with Chat Noir in mind, like padded pole battles on top of inflatable pedestals to see who could knock the other off, or obstacle courses set up at different difficulty levels. Chat Noir street performers – or _purr_ formers, as they liked to say – roamed around and romanced all the pretty girls. I wasn't the biggest fan of that; it made me look like a flirt when I only ever flirted with Ladybug. And Marinette, but it turned out she _is_ Ladybug, so... still just one girl.

Then there were the sweets! There were lollipops, and chocolates, and hard candies, and taffies. We had to hit up everyone that was showcased on the evening news Friday. Which of course meant Marinette's family bakery.

"These are awesome, Mr. Dupain; Mrs. Cheng." I bit into one of the Cat Bells sweet buns and savored the honey coating my throat as it exploded from the center.

"Why, thank you, Adrien," Mrs. Cheng replied as she refused my payment. "Friends of Marinette's are always welcome for some samples. Just don't overdo it." She gave a playful but stern glare at Nino, who dropped his fourth Chat Noir Stick. She laughed, and handed it back to him.

"Did you honestly help your parents come up with all of these while also working on that banner?" I tried one of the layer cookies. The mint was so refreshing and paired beautifully with the dark chocolate cookie.

"Uh, yeah. Yes I did." She nervously giggled. "It wasn't all that hard, and I think that Chat Noir really deserved the citizens of Paris giving this day our all."

"You're too sweet, Marinette."

Mr. Dupain stopped what he was doing to eye me up as his wife cooed and gave a goofy smile to their daughter. Alya smirked and wrapped her arm around Marinette's shoulders. Meanwhile, poor Marinette looked like she had just swallowed a slug. Her face became so red I was all but convinced she managed to put just her Ladybug mask on.

"Uh, could- could I borrow your bathroom, please?" My throat felt incredibly dry and I started feeling a bit flush myself.

"Up the stairs. If you find yourself in our kitchenette and living room you've gone too far." Mrs. Cheng placed a hand on my back, and escorted me through the bakery and to the main stairwell. I thanked her before jogging up, sheepishly opening unmarked doors until I found the bathroom.

Once inside, I figured now would be as good a time as any to make another Chat Noir appearance. It _was_ my day after all. I transformed and snuck out a window. Heading over to City Hall, I managed to find Enzo.

"Hey," I landed beside him and twirled my tail behind me, trying to act casual; ignoring the fact that I embarrassed myself in front of Marinette a couple of minutes ago. "Enzo, right? How are you feeling?"

"Chat Noir?" He blinked at me before finally smiling. "Much better now, thank you. Is there something I can do for you?

"Actually, yes, if you don't mind. Do you know if there's a news crew around?"

*v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v*

I snuck back into Marinette's family bathroom and raced downstairs, realizing that I had been gone for quite some time. With a blush already firmly on my face, I meekly returned to the group.

"Hey, sorry for holding you guys up. I guess I overdid the sweets. Maybe we should check out the court house auction next? My father gave me an allowance, so I could put in a few bids for each of us if you'd like."

We said goodbye to Marinette's parents and walked down to the court house. On the way, the TVs lining the streets all turned on.

"Good afternoon, Paris," Mayor Bourgeois greeted the citizens enjoying the festival. "We have quite the treat for you. Chat Noir himself stopped by City Hall and left us this message for everyone."

My friends, The Gorilla, and I all gathered under one of the screens. Alya had her phone at the ready. Then the video feed cut to the recording I had Enzo do when I snuck away before.

"Hey, Paris, what's up? I just wanted to let everyone know that it is so cool that you guys did all of this for me. I hope you know that neither Ladybug nor I protect you for this kind of thanks, but it is appreciated. You all did amazing, especially this guy Enzo who pulled this whole event together!" At that point I pulled Enzo onto the screen beside me. He awkwardly waved at the camera, and then I let him dash back out of the shot.

"This is so awesome!" Alya squeaked. She was already recording the video of Chat Noir. Probably to post up on her Ladyblog, in case anyone either missed it or wanted to rewatch it.

In the video, I had re-settled after sharing the screen with Enzo. I smirked and stood confidently. "I'm loving everything everyone did: the outfits you're all wearing, the decorations over everything, the goodies you all made, and the stunning artwork of me; you guys rock! And, a special thank you to my partner Ladybug. What you did is way above and beyond, and it's kindness like this that makes you my best friend."

Marinette gasped beside me, and all I wanted was to take her hand.

"Alright, Paris, I'll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing. Thanks again for everything, and know that Ladybug and I will be around to protect you for as long as we possibly can."

I had given the camera a double finger salute before leaping out a window. The footage cut back to Mayor Bourgeois, so no one but me knew that after going out that window, Chat Noir raced back to the Tom & Sabine bakery.

"Such a lovely little speech," Mayor Bourgeois nodded approval. "I want to echo his words. Good people of Paris, you are what makes this city great and worthy of such fantastic superheroes. We should take a part of today to celebrate you!"

The screens then blinked back to their stand-by mode; transmission complete.

"That was so sick!" Alya growled with excitement. She held her phone up in selfie-mode. "Hey, peeps! Alya streaming live again at the Chat Noir appreciation festival. Did you guys catch that vid? If not, no worries, because I caught it all on my phone and will upload it to the Ladyblog later tonight."

She continued rambling to her live audience while Nino rolled his eyes. Beside me Marinette was silent.

"What did you think of the video?"

With a soft hum, she turned to me a bit dazed. Slowly, her face went from foggy and lost in thought to bright and relieved.

"I'm glad that he seemed so upbeat." Her smile stretched across her face with a sincere pleasure. "I think this festival really helped cheer him up."

"I'm positive it did."

*v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v*

At the silent auction I made sure to put down a generous bid for Théo's statue of Chat Noir posed with his baton extended like a cane, and silently rejoiced when I won it. I also supplemented my friends' bids in order to get them some really neat stuff too. Nino got one of those headphones from Japan that had LED cat ears across the band; giving him a sort of cyberpunk Chat Noir look when he wore them. Alya won a Chat Noir-themed gift basket filled with things like a fleece throw blanket, a zip-up hoodie, and a mug. She instantly threw the hoodie on and showed it off to us. It was black with cat ears on the hood, a golden bell on the zipper, and a large green paw-print across the back.

While I thought Marinette would love a basket filled with colored pencils, sketch books, and Chat Noir stickers, I was surprised to see her place a bid on a stack of joke books.

"I didn't know you liked puns."

"I don't. I actually kind of hate them, but they're also sort of enduring? It doesn't make sense, I know. Still, something about them really makes me think of Chat Noir." She tried to fight her smile as she thumbed through the book of _101 Cat Puns_.

Abruptly, she dropped the book back onto the pile up for auction. "N-not that I'm trying to think of Chat Noir. Or that I'm always thinking about him or anything. I'm not like some weird fangirl obsessed with him! I just- I don't know. Nevermind, these are stupid." She waved off the lot and wandered over to a few other options up for auction.

I made sure she won the bid for the books.

*v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v*

We swung back around to my father's booth for a little bit and drew our own superheroes. Alya's was a copper-skinned woman with lots of stars and primary colors all over her outfit. Nino stuck with the cyberpunk theme he had going with his new headphones, and made his blue-skinned superhero covered in black with glowing green, purple, and blue track lighting all over.

Marinette made what looked like a redesign of Ladybug. Her hair was in a high ponytail with long flowing red ribbon draping down from it. The abdomen of the costume was still red with black spots, but the arms and legs were solid black, and the collar was a simple v-neck. Marinette's re-design of her Ladybug costume also had red knee-high boots with her signature black spots down them. It had a more mature look to it, and a lot more battle-ready. I was curious as to why she wanted to change up her supersuit, and why this wasn't the suit in the first place if it's what she wanted.

I made a superhero that was more masculine and brooding. His tight suit showed off his six-pack abs, and he wore knee-high padded gray boots over black pants, along with a utility belt, fingerless black gloves, and a sweeping trench coat. His brunette hair was shaggy and a bit longer than mine.

"That looks so cool." Marinette pointed at my drawing from across the table.

"Thanks. I love your Ladybug re-design."

She blushed and folded up her drawing to shove into her purse.

*v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v*

Around five o'clock we headed over to the Pont d'léna. Alya tried to remember, via news footage, where the barricade was during Stoneheart's attack on Paris. Meanwhile, I had a feeling Marinette remembered just as well as I did. We ended up gathering just west of the halfway point on the bridge, and convinced The Gorilla to take the picture of us.

We gathered together and held up Marinette's silver banner.

"This seems boring," Alya griped. "I need something epic for my Ladyblog." A Cheshire-cat grin spread across her face as she rummaged through her pack. She whipped out Chat Noir and Ladybug masks she had bought earlier. "We can pretend we're Ladybug and Chat Noir for the photo."

She took off her glasses and put a Ladybug mask on. She then fished out a replica of Ladybug's yo-yo. Spinning the yo-yo beside her, she posed in a battle-ready stance.

I wasn't in my costume, and my hair was swooped to the side instead of shaggy, but I still worried that I'd be recognized if I wore my mask. Now knowing Marinette was Ladybug, I was pretty convinced that everyone would recognize her with her mask on. My mind flooded with potential – although pathetic – excuses as to why this wasn't such a good idea.

Thankfully, Marinette again came to the rescue.

"If you're Ladybug you don't need that hoodie. I think it will be a great Chat Noir costume though!" She took one of the Chat Noir masks and put it on before gesturing for Alya to give up her new hoodie.

"Oh man, this is going to look awesome!" Alya clapped as Marinette zipped up the hoodie and flipped the hood up so the ears perked at the top of her head.

"I think you should take the other Chat Noir mask." I grabbed the second one from Alya and held it out to Nino. "Especially with your new headphones, it will look awesome. Besides, we all know that Ladybug and Chat Noir are a couple." I winked and Marinette groaned off to my left.

Well, that wasn't really the response I wanted, but it was about what I was expecting, considering how Ladybug always rebuffed my advances.

"Actually, Adrien, there is little to no evidence that they are much more than partners and possible friends." Alya cleared her throat, and we all knew she was about to lecture us about Ladybug.

"Nah, it's cool, I think I'd make a swank Chat Noir, don't you, babe?" Nino tucked his glasses away and put the mask on, hoping to distract Alya from her lesson on the Ladybug and Chat Noir dynamic.

"Very cool," Alya cooed, and forgot about Ladybug not being attracted to Chat Noir as she pulled Nino into a kiss.

"I guess I'm the other Ladybug then." I took the last mask and put it on, but I didn't really have anything else for the costume.

"Alright, boys, you can hold up the banner. Marinette, pose with me like you're the real Chat Noir." Alya shifted us around to get a good shot. Nino and I held up the banner so it was blocking our clothes, since they were going to ruin the custom look anyway. Meanwhile, Marinette laid it on thick as she knelt in front of Alya like Chat Noir was trying to woo Ladybug. Alya laughed at first, but quickly collected herself. Instead, she held her hand out as if shooing Chatinette away and focused on spinning her yo-yo in front of her like a shield.

The Gorilla took a few pictures as the poses changed. Marinette clawed towards the camera like Chat Noir attacking with Cataclysm. Alya wrapped the yo-yo around her waist and stood ready to fight; fists up to protect her face. Then Nino handed his half of the banner over to Marinette so he could scoop his Ladybug into a bridal carry. She in turn held him in a bridal carry, and it was hilarious.

As the sky started to darken, The Gorilla grunted that we needed to get going. Alya did one last live shout-out via the Ladyblog before pulling us into a group hug goodbye. Nino escorted Alya home, and I offered the same to Marinette.

"No, thank you. I think I want to just walk around the Trocadéro a bit longer. It's so beautiful here. Actually, it's sort of my spring of inspiration."

"Trying to get some last minute ideas for your portfolio?"

"I want it to be perfect is all. I mean _your_ father is going to be looking at it."

I rested a hand on her shoulder and loved the tingle that ran through me. "It will be perfect. Don't worry so much."

"Nah, it's not perfect, I mean, not compared to you. I mean, your portfolio! I'm sure your portfolio, of your pictures, that you get professionally taken, that's what's perfect."

I gave her a knowing smile and tapped my fingers against her shoulder; partially reminding me that my hand was still there and I needed to pull it away.

"You'll be fine. I'll see you later."

"Yeah. Later. Mmhmm." She hugged herself and gave a bashful wave by wiggling her fingers.

I didn't want The Gorilla to escort me home. I didn't want the festival to be over. I didn't want to leave Marinette's side. I'd see her soon enough, though. It was almost seven; just an hour before Chat Noir and Ladybug's meet-up.

* * *

 ****A/N:** **I debated downsizing the description of Chat Noir appreciation day, but the moments were sweet, and I thought Adrien deserved for everyone to follow through his festival with him.**

 **Also, I have no clue why each character drew the superhero design they did; it's just what they told me they'd draw. We'll see if Marinette's re-design of her Ladybug costume makes another appearance in my intended sequel "One and the Same." As for Adrien? Well, I was thinking of some sort of design similar to Gambit from X-Men and Kirito from Sword Art Online. They seemed like comics/anime Adrien would enjoy.**

 **I know there isn't much drama in this chapter, but I thought you guys (and Adrien) deserved a little fluff before the end.**

 **For reals this time: ONE MORE TO GO! EEEEEEEEE****


	17. Purpose

****A/N:** **What's this!? Two updates on the same day!? Well, to be fair, when I wrote this final chapter it was an 18pg, 8800-word beast. After 18 days of waiting for an update, I thought "maybe I should give you this massive story in one chunk", but I just couldn't do it. I went back and forth quite a bit before finally deciding to split it. However, you DID wait this long, I DID want to finish this story before August, and I DID have the story done, so why not give you everything? That way you can read it all at once like the massive chapter it originally was, if you want, or you can read in it two smaller bites if you prefer.**

 **Anyway, this IS it. Who's ready for this FINAL CHAPTER? FOR REALS!****

* * *

 **CHAPTER 17: PURPOSE**

The excitement of Chat Noir Day was winding down by the time I made it back to the Trocadéro. Not many people were still out, but I stuck to the rooftops anyway, just to be sure I wasn't stopped by anyone. I wanted to get to the rendezvous a little before eight. I had made Ladybug wait for me too frequently lately, and I didn't want her to question whether or not I was going to show.

It didn't matter; she still beat me to our meet-up. There was a strong possibility that she never left after our photo shoot.

She was at the half-wall on the first landing down from the Place du Trocadéro. There was that normal light coming from her as she grinned, greeted, and waved to excited citizens running into her on their way home.

"Thank you," she told them and waved them on their way. "Thank you for celebrating Chat Noir with me. I know he really appreciated it. Take care! Bye! Nice meeting you!"

Everyone must have been tired from the long day, either that, or she had been Ladybug for most of the past hour, because soon enough the place cleared out and it was just her standing at the Trocadéro. She heaved a sigh and stared out across the river to the beauty of the Eiffel Tower lit up for the evening. Everything looked spectacular. My breath caught as I fought the urge to shout down my confession of love to her.

I extended my baton, and I rode it down to a soft landing at the top of the stairs.

"Hey," I called out, startling her.

"Oh! Chat! Hello." She seemed so soft spoken and unsure. For a second I saw pink capris, a white shirt, and gray cover shirt, instead of a red bodysuit accented with black spots.

We stood silently for, well, I couldn't really say how long.

"Chat?" She motioned towards one of the benches that lined the half-wall.

I joined her on it and waited. I knew I should be the first to say something, but I didn't know what to tell her aside from "I love you" and "please don't hate me."

Ladybug fidgeted with her fingers, resting them on top of her knees as she ground her toes into the tile flooring. She hadn't looked at me, really looked at me, since I startled her.

"Chat Noir? What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" she shouted; nearly bouncing off the bench as she turned to me. "The last thing you said to me was 'I'm sorry' after telling me you don't deserve to be Chat Noir anymore! Then you didn't answer any of my messages-"

"Yeah, sorry. I just got those today." It was my turn to stare at my knees. "I couldn't bear to be Chat Noir again unless you needed me for an akuma. I was afraid that if I transformed then I'd be tempted-" I felt my whole body burn as I realized what I was saying.

"Tempted? Tempted about what? What is going on? I thought we could talk to each other."

"I told you, it's a personal thing, and you don't want us to tell each other personal things." I shifted further from her on the bench. She followed me and placed a hand on my wrist.

"Kitty, there has to be _something_ you can tell me, even vaguely? I want to help. Please let me."

"You did help." It pained me to do so, but I lifted her hand off my arm, placed it back on her lap, and stood up. I took in the beauty of the Eiffel Tower's lights filling the evening sky behind us. "All of Paris was decked out in Chat Noir green and black because of you. I now know that this city doesn't think of me as your sidekick."

"This whole thing isn't just about you feeling like a sidekick though, is it? If it was, you would have told me, wouldn't you?"

I pinched my eyes closed until the tears retreated. I was terrified I'd lose her if she knew. She wasn't ready yet. _I_ wasn't ready yet. I needed to tell her something though. She deserved to know at least a little bit.

"It wasn't just that. I was ashamed. I still am, actually."

"Ashamed? Why? Because of Terravenger?"

"No- well, yeah, but, no. I-" I felt my whole body quiver. Would she hate me? Was this the last time I'd see her? "Ladybug, I've misused my powers."

"Oh." It was simple and somehow knowing. "How- how have you misused them? Have- have you hurt anyone?"

"No! I mean, I don't think so. I mean, it still wasn't right, and I'm afraid that it might lead to someone feeling betrayed, but- It was supposed to be so innocent. I didn't mean any harm."

Ladybug stood up, walked to the other side of me, and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Of course you didn't mean to hurt anyone, Chat Noir. I know you well enough to know you would never do something like that on purpose."

I shrugged her hand off my shoulder. Stepping around her, I walked down the stairs. She waited a moment before following me a couple paces behind.

"I did what I did knowing it was wrong." My voice cracked as I confessed; I couldn't bear to look back at her as I spoke. "I wanted to stop, but I didn't. I was being selfish, and I hate myself for it. I don't think I even deserve to be your sidekick, let alone your partner. You should be able to trust your partner."

"Chat, are you still misusing your powers?"

I stopped a few steps up from the lowest level of the Trocadéro. I turned to her and looked her squarely in the eye. I needed her to know that I was telling the truth.

"No. I stopped. It kept me far too long to do so, but I did. I'm done. I'm not going to do it again."

"Good." She tilted her head slightly to the side, and gave me a kind smile. "See? I knew I could trust you."

"But-"

She shook her head and hummed for me to stop.

"We're still new to this whole superhero thing. We're human. We're bound to mess things up. I've misused my powers too."

"You have?"

"Well, for one, I caused Volpina by yelling at her while I was Ladybug. I used my superhero status to call her out and shame her. It wasn't cool, and I regret doing so. I also used a Lucky Charm for personal gain instead of stopping a supervillain. Not to mention that I tend to transform into Ladybug simply so I can get around Paris faster."

She folded her hands together and pinched them against her legs. Her whole body tensed up, and a blush leaked from under her mask.

"I get it. Having superpowers makes life easier, and gives you a sense of authority and celebrity. It's tempting to use those powers for personal reasons. I've done it too, and I regret it probably as much as you do. As long as you learn from it and try not to do it again, I think it's alright."

"Real- You- You really think so?" My mind spun. She had misused her powers too? Probably never did anything as bad as spying on a classmate for a week, but still. She didn't seem nearly as upset with me as I had feared. She was so understanding.

Man, Marinette truly was amazing!

When Ladybug again gave me a simple nod and hum of affirmation, I raced up to her and pulled her into a tight hug.

 _Don't cry,_ I ordered myself. I didn't think I'd listen though. _Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry._

"Aww, Kitty," Ladybug started stroking the base of my hair and rubbing my back. I nearly lost it then. "It's alright. I promise you it will be alright. I still trust you. You are still a good person. You're still a superhero. You're my partner, and I can't save Paris without you. Okay?"

I couldn't hold it any longer. I sobbed. I pulled her closer and let myself openly sob into her shoulder.

"Thank you, Ladybug. Thank you for everything."

"You're quite welcome, but you can show your thanks by not wiping your nose on my costume. I have no clue if there's a way to magically dry clean them."

My tears instantly dried up as I gargled on a laugh. I pulled away from her and wiped the moisture off my cheeks with the back of my thumb.

"Thanks again, Ladybug. I knew I could count on you."

"And I know I can count on you too." She flicked the bell hanging from the collar of my costume. "So, are we good? All better now? Or do I need to fetch you a saucer of milk?"

"Can I still get the milk if I say yes?"

We smiled at each other. Awkward little smiles filled with relief, but still tainted with traces of concern.

"Chat, you'll come to me with stuff like this from now on, right? You shouldn't have to hide anything from me. Well, except for your identity, that is." Classic Marinette nervous fake giggle.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll come to you from now on. Sorry."

"It's alright. Want to go back up to the bench and talk some more?"

My whole being wanted to say 'yes,' but I knew she still had work to do as Marinette. I turned to take in the beauty of the Eiffel Tower lit up across the Seine one more time before shaking my head.

"It's been a long day, thanks to _someone_ making the mayor throw me a huge festival."

"I just wanted him to make an announcement. I didn't realize he'd throw a city-wide festival for you!"

I feigned being hurt by her words. It made her laugh, and that made my heart race.

"Not that you didn't deserve it, Kitty. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself and felt loved."

"Yeah, well, you deserve it more."

I took off my baton and twirled it across my knuckles and around my hand. Pressing the paw-print button, I extended the baton so it touched the ground.

"Thank you again, M'lady. Until I see you tomorrow."

"We just went two days without an akuma attack, why do you think Hawk Moth is going to send one out tomorrow?"

"I don't." I pressed the paw-print button again, and my baton shot me up into the sky. Spiraling it over my head like a helicopter blade, I softly landed on the roof of the Trocadéro. Sparing one last glance below, I saw Ladybug spinning her yo-yo by her side before throwing it so she could swing into the sky as well.

I knew I had to run if I was going to keep her from catching up with me. Still, I paused a moment more to blow her a kiss goodbye.

"Until tomorrow, Marinette." I then jumped and propelled myself to the closest building; starting my escape back home.

*v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v*

As much as I loved public school already, that Monday was the best school day of my life. I knew I was going to see my love. I knew she thought of both Adrien _and_ Chat Noir as her friend. Plus, now I knew that she forgave me for misusing my powers. I just hoped her forgiveness would hold up once I let her know exactly _how_ I misused them.

Things were going so great, even a pop-quiz in geography wasn't going to squash my attitude. I needed to be careful though. As we headed to music together I caught myself flirting a little with Marinette. She didn't seem to notice my smirks, winks, or how close I was standing near her, but Alya's radar appeared to be on high alert.

 _Chat Noir first; then Adrien,_ I had to remind myself. I needed to woo her as Chat Noir first. Superhero first. Super model second. I couldn't screw this up.

The final bell rang and I met up with Marinette at the lockers.

"Oh, before I forget again, here." I held out her thermos, which she timidly accepted. "So, to your place? Is the portfolio ready?"

"Um, yeah. Yes! I mean, yes, you can walk me home- I mean follow me home. You can come to my portfolio. To _get_ my portfolio." She groaned before walking rigidly past me. I followed her out of the school, and we silently marched across the street to her family bakery.

"Oh, Adrien," Mrs. Cheng chirped from behind the counter, "It's lovely to see you again."

"He's here to pick up that art project I had been working on, Mama." Marinette gave her mother a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, in that case, you two have fun, but keep in mind your father and I will be keeping an eye out."

"Ma _ma!_ " Marinette growled under her breath. "Sorry about that," she addressed me. "Come on up." She waved for me to follow her as she lead me through her home.

Once in her room she offered me her chaise as she put her school supplies away and gathered her portfolio. While I waited, I took in her room from the inside. I had been there before, but I didn't fully appreciate it then.

I was still surprised that such an artistic and creative person would have such bare walls. They were a pastel pink, as to be expected with Marinette, but not a single picture was hanging from them. It just seemed too sterile of an environment; even with my father's rigid decorating rules, I had at least fencing posters hanging from my walls. Then again, I wasn't much of a creative person. Maybe Marinette kept her walls empty to better help her concentrate on her artwork and designs. Nothing to distract her while she worked.

"Here-here you go." She gulped loud enough that it sounded like a cartoon sound effect. She handed me her portfolio, her hands shaking.

"Oh, neat!" I instantly flipped it open, which caused Marinette to flair about before dropping to her knees beside the chaise and flinging her hands over the pictures.

"No! D-don't-"

"Marinette," I chuckled, "If you can't let me look through them, how are you going to let my father?"

"I won't be in the room to see his reaction?"

"Come on, these are amazing!" I slid over on the chaise and helped her up so she sat beside me. I then laid the portfolio out across both of our laps. Gingerly, I turned each page and asked her about her inspiration for the designs.

Marinette lit up as she talked about her vision for each one and why she picked it for the portfolio. Soon I stopped looking at her drawings. I simply turned the page and watched her as she talked about the textures and colors and general feel she wanted to show in the design.

"Oh, this one! I wish I could have made it for yesterday."

I finally looked back down at the portfolio: it was the Chat Noir-Ladybug yin-yang dress I saw her design. My heart fluttered to know that she actually included it.

"This is fantastic, Marinette!"

"It- it is?"

"I think this one is my favorite, actually." I bumped her shoulder with mine, and she turned her head from me so I couldn't watch her face redden.

"The way that you were able to get Chat Noir's and Ladybug's outfits to work so beautifully together; the way they are intertwined. Even the hint at a yin-yang design in this dress. It's basically their partnership in outfit form."

"You see that too?"

"Of course." I paused for a moment. My body running hot and cold at the same time as I worked up the courage to say what I wanted. "I think you would look amazing modeling this dress, Marinette. I hope my father helps you create it."

She squeaked. There was no other sound as she did a baby hop to the other side of her chaise; her eyes wide and fixated on me.

I chuckled as I closed the portfolio.

"These are all amazing, Marinette. I'm sure my father will be really impressed."

I stood up and Marinette stared like her mind was still trying to reboot.

"I should probably leave, but this was fun. We need to hang out more, just the two of us. I love Nino and Alya and all, but the two of us never really get to have any time to get to know each other, you know?"

She slowly nodded her head, her mouth slightly agape. Then the mental reset happened. She shook her head, her eyes had the light return to them, and she stood up with flurry.

"Uh, yeah! I'd love you- _to!_ I'd love _to_ ; ya know, spend time with you. Us hanging out, I mean. Uh- You really think your father will like my drawings?"

"He'll love your drawings, and if he doesn't, I'll tell him why he should. I mean, I know all of your inspiration and everything now. I could probably give him the whole pitch for each design."

"You really don't have-"

"I want to. These are really good, and you should be proud of them, not afraid of what others think about them. You'll see."

Marinette's hands twitched by her side, like she was fighting her body's need to do something.

"Thank you, so much. You really are the kindest person I know, Adrien."

"I don't know about that. You know yourself, don't you?"

She gawked before the words fully washed over her. Then she giggled. Her honest, warm, charming, chimes of laughter. I knew I'd spend my whole life trying to hear that sound as much as I could.

It was my turn for my body to twitch. I wanted to hug her so bad, but we were just friends. I was just saying goodbye. I didn't want her to feel weird by my random invasion of her space. So I opted a simple wave as I descended down her stairs.

"See you tomorrow, Marinette."

"Y-yeah! See you to-tomorrow." She waved back. Her body tense and sort of folding in on itself.

I hummed and skipped a few steps as I made my way back through the Dupain-Cheng home. Each floor I walked through begged for me to just stay. This is where I wanted to be every minute of every day now. It hurt to descend those steps and know I was heading out he door.

Still, I had Marinette's portfolio in my arms. Father was going to see it; I was going to make sure of that. And the prospect of her idol potentially becoming her mentor had made the love of my life so happy. I couldn't linger and delay the next chapter of her life.

"You have the art project alright?" Mrs. Cheng asked as I walked back through the bakery.

I held up the portfolio.

"I'd expect your daughter to be famous fairly soon, Mrs. Cheng, based on what she did here."

Marinette's mom gave me her own giggle, and it was sweet like her daughter's. I now knew where Marinette got her enchanting laugh from, and I understood why Mr. Dupain fell for his wife. These Cheng women and their wind-chime laughs.

I waved goodbye and headed home, my heart so full I thought it was going to explode through my chest.

"Well, Romeo, what's your next move?" Plagg drifted out from behind my shirt and hovered in front of me as I walked.

"Next move?"

"Yeah, to win over Ladybug. Are you going to spy on her again tonight to try to get some more intel? Find out what she likes so you can surprise her with it?"

I scoffed with a simple laugh.

"No. I gave her my word that I wasn't going to do that anymore. Besides, I don't need to. I know who Ladybug is now, and I know who Marinette is. She's an amazing girl who is smart, funny, crafty, brave, loving, caring, and artistic. She's also not as shy around me as she once was, I really think we can start hanging out just the two of us. I'll figure out then what I need to do to win her heart."

"Humans. You make things so complicated."

"Well, our situation is a bit complicated, isn't it? At least I know that I'm her friend, both in and out of the mask. I can work with that."

I opened Marinette's portfolio to the last page and took in the beautiful colors of her yin-yang dress. Ladybug and Chat Noir were connected; intertwined. We were like one. I was positive that our relationship could grow into something more. I wasn't sure how, but just knowing there was hope was enough for me.

I could start wondering about the how's tomorrow.

* * *

 ****A/N: Whoo, and with that, we're done...**

 **The title "Purpose" is supposed to have a bit of a double meaning. First, it's the theme of this chapter, as all the titles were: Adrien has a purpose (showing Marinette's portfolio to Gabriel, and wooing Marinette as Chat Noir), and also Adrien admits to misusing his powers on purpose. Which brings me to the second meaning: purpose, as in the opposite of mistake; a sort of full-circle but 180 from the first chapter. I hope the story came across that way.**

 **I know I have Adrien refer to Marinette by name quite a bit while in her room, but to be fair, he DOES say her name an oddly frequent amount of times in the show. Plus, it's sort of a sign of attraction: to refer to people by name or romantic title, such as "fiance" or "husband/wife."**

 **I also hope the pseudo-confession is good enough for now. I do plan on more to come to light in my intended sequel "One and the Same" (currently slated to come out in the winter some time, however it did take me 6 months before having this story prepped for publishing). In the meantime, though, Adrien couldn't let everything out. Please, don't hate me.**

 **Anyway, this whole thing is so bittersweet; giving up this story after being with it for nearly a year. This is the first novel-length work I have ever completed. I want to thank each and every last one of you for taking this journey with me and sharing your love.**

 **You are why I write. Thank you! Love you! Until next time!****


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